


The Smile That Birthed Worlds

by awesomyth



Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Kingdom Hearts, The Black Cauldron (1985)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Mild Blood, Plot, Post canon, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-07-07 22:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19859239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomyth/pseuds/awesomyth
Summary: When Kairi’s physical form is vanquished by Xehanort and she is separated from her friends, her heart ventures to out to a world where two other lost hearts are searching for a way home.Features Kairi of Kingdom Hearts, Kida of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Eilonwy of The Black Cauldron.





	1. All But There

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first completed work and I wanted to write it like a Kairi DLC since I wish she had more involvement in the story. This all takes place towards the end of Kingdom Hearts and leads up to everything after!

“You require motivation!”  


Kairi feels the exact moment when Xehanort strikes her down. She had been so numb and out of tune to her surroundings, her vision bleary and all sound around her muffled. She recognized her own name being said from someone, somewhere. Nothing came clear until the pain pierced and split her from the back. She shattered from the inside out.  


“Kairi!!!”  


There and then gone. That was her story, the never realized Princess of Heart that could only be moved like a chess piece.  


There and then gone.

Kairi snapped into awareness of herself like one does in a dream. Reality became in sync and full senses returned. She knew her name to be Kairi, but her current form did not match what a Kairi should be. The-light-that-was-Kairi was a ball of pink light skittering across the surface of a dark sea and bouncing like a skipping stone. An ocean stretched before her, behind her, beyond her. And above her, a star filled night sky. How said, thought the little light, that I’m not even enough to join them...  


There were two other lights atop the strange watery expanse. One such light was an ancient light blue that had seen many lifetimes, and it gathered droplets of water in its orbit as it passed. The second light was a faint glowing purple that changed from gold to green at its core, young and playful but trembling. The-light-that-was-Kairi took notice of them and, desperate to not be alone, glided towards them quickly. The other lights rushed to meet her.  


They all collided in firework of sparks and sent a wide ripple across the ocean.  


Farther down below the tide, a lone shadow sunk deeper in deeper into the dark embrace of the depths. For so long the shadow had fought for an existence it had not chosen. The shadow had been split from someone else, a half never made whole again and forever incomplete. It envied its other half, the original, because the separation had taken joy and love out of it to leave behind only endless misery. The creator made sure of that.  


The shadow began to feel itself come undone. What was existence? What was the self? It no longer mattered. The shadow relinquished more and more of its identity to join the dark sea, becoming nothing and nothing more. There was a sense of peace in disappearing.  


A gloved hand reached down into the dark aether. It stirred in the water in search of something. A laugh, a memory, an agonizing scream. Pieces of a deteriorating conscience was floating along the water like sea foam, and the hand dipped down deeper to find the source.  


Shadow. Self. A name. Vanitas? The hand grabbed what was left of him and plucked it from the water. It had a new purpose for Vanitas to serve.

The-light-that-was-Kairi began to remember what its true form used to be. It made hands, feet, a face, and eyes as blue as a summer sky. It remembered short hair, long and then short again. The light projected Kairi as best as it could, though its inside was still hollow from all of the important pieces that it could not quite replicate. Kairi wiggled her fingers into the soft grass beneath her and opened her eyes. She saw the vertical view of a lush green forest with treetops that nearly blotted out the sky. The breeze was summer warm and wafted the smell of far off cooking meat into her nostrils. She pressed her palms down and sat up on her elbows, turning her head slowly to catch her bearings and analyze her surroundings.  


When she sat further up, Kairi realized that she was looking straight through her hand and to the grass behind it. The only indication of her presence at all was a faint pink outline of herself and her own shallow breathing. In a certain angle of the light she was practically invisible. She slammed her hand back down to the ground, praying that she wouldn’t sink through as if she was intangible. Her fingers curled into a fist and beat the ground once more as the tears came.  


It was all there; her memories from before. Xehanort, the battle, and Sora, who had called her name. For all of the training she had with Lea and Master Yen Sid, it wasn’t enough. She had never been enough. And her friends were in who knew what state while she was…  


Dead?  


Kairi’s shoulders shook as she sobbed. She laid both fists to the grass and pressed her forehead between them to block out the entire world and its fondness for being cruel to her. What was left of her heart ached painfully.  


“Pardon! You there?” a small voice dared to approach with the sound of wet footsteps following. “Are you alright- oh! She’s hardly there!”  
Kairi didn’t move when someone knelt near her, nor did she stop crying when a hand pressed lightly between her shoulder blades. “She is real,” another slightly accented voice confirmed. The owner of the voice was wearing a necklace with a cleanly cut crystal, and it lifted from their collarbone and attracted to Kairi like a magnet. The owner watched as it glowed, and the spot that it’s light reached on Kairi's shoulder turned it from translucent to a fleshy peach. The owner leaned forward curiously, allowing the crystal’s light to fill in more of the girl. “The Great Crystal wants to help her.”  


The owner of the first voice adjusted her purple skirt before kneeling down as well. “Come, Bauble! Let’s see if you can do the same trick?” A bouncy golden ball of light descended from her shoulder and hovered around Kairi’s head. It knocked lightly atop her hair and waited for her to look up. It’s glow turned her hair an undeniable red.  
Kairi rose her head just enough to see a brown knee and a purple skirt. She raised herself up to sit on her knees but still kept her eyes low. Only then did she notice the spread of her true colors and her pink combat gear. She lifted her hand and rotated it, checking both sides just to be sure. The golden light bounced in her lap proudly. At last she turned her attention to her company.  


There was a woman with long white hair laid against her dark brown skin, and the blue of her cheek tattoos and crystal nearly matched her eyes. She wore a teal top that bared her stomach and a skirt that formed around her athletic hips and thighs. A gold earring dangled from her right ear and anklets jingled from her ankle.  
The second girl was far younger, maybe younger than Kairi, and had a black band atop her massive blond hair. She was fair skinned and wore a dress with various purples that differed on her body, skirt, and long sleeves. They both watched Kairi with attentive concern.  


“Are you alright?” the youngest one asked.  


The older one pressed her hand to her shoulder comfortingly and smiled.  


Kairi wiped her fully formed arm over her eyes and regarded them with a voice pained from crying. “I think I’m okay...Thank you.” She smiled as best as she could. The Bauble booped her gently on the nose in relief.  


“You gave me a fright! But I am glad you’re alright. We've already seen stranger things in this forest.” The younger of the group stood and dusted off her dress, then offered her hand to Kairi, who took it. “I’m Princess Eilonwy."  
"My name is Kidagakash. But you may call me Kida," the tall one added as she stood gracefully from her crouching position. “Do you understand? Comprenez vous? Intellegisne?”  


Kairi didn’t recognize the last two languages but the meaning was clear. “My name is Kairi…” Standing up slowly did little to restore her equilibrium, and she felt dizzy just from the slight turns of her head. “Where are we? Is this your home?”  


“Goodness, no.” Eilonwy darted her eyes around in distress. “I’ve ventured much of Prydain but I don’t know these trees…”  


Kida pressed her hand to the trunk of a tree and felt up the bark. She slid her palm across it slow and tactifully, as if learning a new sensation. “My world is submerged beneath the sea…,” she sighed, looking to them sadly. “We have no trees. Or sky.” She glanced upward, and the smile that appeared was one of longing.  


Kairi knew that smile. The one that she always practiced when Riku and Sora told her that they had to leave and she lied that she was okay with waiting. She never wanted to smile like that again. Composing herself, she stepped forward and put on a brave face. “We should help each other get home. Maybe we can start by-”  


A low growl came from a nearby bush. Three heads snapped in its direction, and Kairi squinted and discovered that it wasn’t a bush at all: it was a mound of dark fur, slowly rising and falling at the heavy breathing of a giant bear. Arrows from previous battles protruded from multiple parts of its body, and one of its eyes had noticeably been scarred all white.  


Kairi was instantly reminded of what fear felt like. She saw Eilonwy back away and extended her arm in front of her protectively. Kida moved to stand in front of them both and ushered them to walk backwards, her eyes never leaving the giant bear. The creature dropped to all four paws and sniffed the air in their direction, growling as it advanced forward. It was gaining momentum and closing the distance, and the trio moved backwards faster as they searched for an escape route.  


The Bauble circled above their heads several times before launching itself at the bear and singing its fur in several spots. The bear batted at it aggressively, distracted for the moment but not for long.  


“Can you climb?” Kida sked urgently, still shuffling them backwards and finally behind the cover of a fallen log large enough to conceal them.  
“These trees are taller than towers!” Eilonwy frowned. She looked at the treetops helplessly.  


Kairi peeked over the edge of the log. The bear was on its two feet again and swatting at the still attacking bauble. It had managed to get closer despite the Bauble trying to direct it the other way. It still sniffed the air, searching for them.  


Opening her hand, she called for Destiny’s Embrace. Several seconds it didn’t appear and her fear increased in the pit of her stomach. But then the handle made its shape in her hand and the rest of the intricate design followed. Eilonwy awed at the weapon, and Kida averted her attention from the bear to marvel at it as well. At the same time, a long spear with an even longer sharp tip appeared in Kida’s own hand. She rotated the pole in her hand with familiarity and leapt over the log. Kairi followed behind her, the instinct to take action overpowering any hesitation.  


“Wait!” Eilonwy called as she clambered a bit slowly but determined over the log. “If only I had Taryn’s sword...” She picked up her skirts and ran to catch up to them. The Bauble left the bear to hover at Eilonwy’s shoulder. Armed or unarmed, she would fight beside them.  


Free of the Bauble, the massive bear towered over its intended prey and stalked forward. All of its teeth were exposed as it roared its threat and raised its ready claws. Kida, clearly the more experienced of them, set herself to a hunter’s crouch and moved in sync with the bear to hold its attention. She flicked her eyes to Kairi briefly. “You know what to do?”  


“I can try.” Kairi corrected her own stance. This wasn’t like a spar with Lea where it ended with a friendly high five and ice cream. It wasn't even like the battle against Saix and Xion where Sora had backed her up. She was out of her element, but she was still capable. And she refused to fall a second time.  


The bear charged at Kida, and Kida charged back with her ready spear. Kairi made a dash for it’s exposed back and struck as hard as she could. She managed to land several more hits before she had to quickly step back, avoiding the bear’s staggering steps as it had been struck from both sides. She saw Eilonwy's shoe glide through the hair and smack perfectly into its belly. Then the now flaming Bauble launched a fiery assault into the bear and knocked it sideways. Taking advantage of the downed beast, Kida and Kairi ran in unison and raised their weapons for the last blow, but over-sized claws whacked them into opposite directions.  


Kairi fell and landed awkwardly on her hip, and a thick red gash appeared where a claw had caught her shoulder quite deeply. She spotted where Kida had landed near a tree and watched as the warrior quickly shifted back into a stance despite the red claw marks reddening above her right hip. When she tried to lunge forward, she had to halt at her own pain and pressed her hand over the wound.  


Eilonwy visibly debated to who she should run to aid first, but then her eyebrows arched over her glare as she stomped toward the bear. “Bauble!”  


The Bauble flew to hover near her, glowing a threatening red and sparking green. The bear righted itself and readied itself to charge. Kairi watched as Eilonwy grabbed the Bauble and seemingly stretched its light, altering it into the shape of a longbow. She drew back her hand with a glowing arrow formed between her fingers and released. The arrow sailed directly into the bear’s sole good eye, and it howled upon impact and stumbled backwards. The rocks beneath its feet disoriented its steps, and the bear tripped and fell into weak ground that gave away into a hole beneath. Dust blossomed from within the hole and rose skyward, and the echoing roar of the bear below indicated that the hole was very deep.  


Kairi tried to sit up but the pressure and pain of her shoulder set in full force and she winced back down. She tried for a healing spell and focused her energy to the gash, but she didn’t feel the usual calming breeze of magic escape her fingers. She willed for the spell again but there was nothing. Fear pinched her once more; she couldn’t use magic. The others ran to join her and Eilonwy gasped and covered her mouth upon seeing the wound. “She’s hurt!”  


Kida quickly knelt down with her fingers holding her crystal. She touched Kairi’s arm as light as she could and gently motioned for her to move forward. Kairi leaned into her hand as far she could despite the discomfort, and she watched as Kida aimed her crystal over the shoulder gash. Blood had already leaked down onto her arm and dyed her pink dress red, and Kida’s grip was slippery and crimson as she tried to carefully keep hold. The crystal bathed Kairi’s shoulder in its light, and Kida released the crystal to press her hand over its remaining glow. Kairi held back a hiss and shut her eyes, but the pain slowly begin to ebb away and decrease until it was no longer there at all. Kida repeated the same process on the claw marks above her hip until they too disappeared.  


There was no time for questioning or explaining. The trio checked one another over, Eilonwy retrieved her shoe, and finally they dashed further into the woods.

Setting up a campfire came easy with the Bauble able to ignite itself at Eilonwy’s command. Kida had picked a spot for them that provided an ample view of their surroundings in case of a surprise attack, at the very top of a hill with a stream winding below. The sky was darkening and sheltering out in the open was a gamble for another attack, but they hadn't let the soreness of the strange situation completely set them. Especially when they were more curious about one another than anything else.  


Eilonwy held her hands over the fire to warm them. “The women of my family line are adept at spells, though I have never heard of this one. Fira you said?”  
Kairi nodded, eager to pass what she knew of magic to someone that could actually use it. “It’s a more powerful fire. I know other spells that could help you, but for now you can practice fira, watera and cura for if you’re ever in trouble.”  


Eilonwy clasped her hands together and grinned with all teeth showing. “I can’t wait to show my family! We’re a long line of sorceress you know? Bauble does what I say but I’m dreadfully out of practice. I suspect Taryn and Fflewddur and Gurgi are wondering of my whereabouts. I was with them last in the Horned King's castle. It was falling apart after Gurgi sacrificed himself...,” she explained as she moved a tress of her blonde hair over her shoulder and pet it down anxiously.  


Eilonwy talked as if her oddly named friends were already well known, but Kairi found it endearing and appreciated her sharing parts of her life. Kida must have found it entertaining too because she asked follow up questions of her own. Even now she leaned forward eagerly and absently flicked at her single earring while she listened. “So Taryn is your friend, the musician is named Fflewddur, and the little gray fluffy thing called Gurgi...he is your pet?”  


“Gurgi is a...actually, I’m not quite sure what he is...was.” Eilonwy frowned slightly.  


Kida smiled sympathetically and turned to Kairi. “And your friends are Sky and Land?”  


“Sora and Riku,” Kairi laughed. “They’re my best friends. And now Lea too.” With their full attention, she explained as far back as she could remember and summarized as best as she could: from Destiny islands being consumed by darkness to the clashing of keyblades in the Keyblade Graveyard. The closer she got to talking about Xehanort, the more she felt her courage waning. She stopped before the part where he had struck her down. It seemed too recent to talk about in the past tense, and the assault still shook her to the core. She wondered if his keyblade had left behind a scar, and her muscles tensed at the realization that she felt slightly puckered and stretched skin when she shifted her shoulder blades. “I have to go home to my friends. We’ve been separated long enough..” she finished.  


Kida reached out a hand to set it on her shoulder. “We’ll all go home twice as strong.” She smiled. “My home is crumbling...while I am here, I want to learn as much as I can to make things better. But first, we must help each other.”  


Eilonwy scooted closer to them and sat close to Kairi, taking her hand in hers and patting it gently. “What about your tale, Kida? How does one come from a world that has sunk?” she offered, hopefully shifting the subject to something lighter and in turn learning more from her new comrades.  


Kida told them of her youth, her mother, and the “bright star” that changed everything. The great wave was the height of the story, and Kida demonstrated with the rise and fall of her hands how the center of the city of her world, Atlantis, was taken under the waves. “It was said that the Gods grew jealous of us and punished us, but who is to say? My sky has been the bottom of the ocean for centuries...” Kida laid on her back to gaze at the gaps of sky between the treetops. “It has been ages since I have seen stars…” she sighed and smiled. “They have not changed...”  


Eilonwy raised her own eyes skyward, but Kairi couldn’t do the same and instead watched the fire pulse around the gathered wood. Looking to the stars reminded her of all the worlds she was never able to reach, of Sora and Riku adventuring among them while she waited on the seashore for their return. She felt so small beneath them.  


After eating the fish that had been caught in the river and baked over the campfire, the trio gathered around the warmth and curled up for sleep. Kairi was the last to drift because every time she closed her eyes the darkness taunted her. The firelight danced too faintly on her eyelids to provide any real relief, and even with the fire so close she still felt cold inside and out.  


But even worse, she was afraid that she would wake up alone.  


The Bauble left its hover over Eilonwy and floated to Kairi, wiggling into the crook of her bent arm and blinking blearily. She sensed its attempt at comfort and closed her eyes, seeing traces of the faint glow behind her eyelids and smiling thankfully. It didn’t completely staunch her fear, but it did make her feel safer. She dreamt of floating facedown in an ocean with a herd of giant ghostly stingrays swimming beneath her.


	2. Fish out of Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write! Enjoy all the nods and brief cameos. :)

Kairi awoke to someone whispering her name in urgency. She slit her eyes just enough to see Eilonwy bent over her, gently prodding at her arm but looking over her shoulder. Kida was in her hunter stance and creeping towards something out of view, but she wasn’t armed with her staff and her expression read curiosity. Kairi could also hear the soft sighs of an infant but saw no one else. She sat up quickly and squinted into the twilight.

With a better vantage point, she could now see that Kida was pursuing a blue light. It looked remarkably different from the Bauble and resembled more of a soft flame with a distinguishable head and two faint eyes. Her first mind told her that it was some form of a Heartless, and she rushed to her feet and prepared to summon her keyblade before Kida quickly extended her arm and motioned her to wait. After a moment she wafted her hand for them to draw closer, and Kairi and Eilonwy slowly moved forward to meet her, eyes never leaving the light. Even the Bauble dared not approach it.

“I think its a will o’ the wisp. Of the fair folk…” Eilonwy whispered. When the three of them inched forward, the small blue flame blew out, and another one appeared a short distance farther. Again they closed in on the little wisp and it disappeared in time for another farther off one to appear.  
“It wants to lead us...” Kida pointed to where a whole trail of wisps had appeared, leading deep into the forest. “Stay together. We have a long way.” She offered both of her hands and Kairi and Eilonwy took them. Hand in hand they followed the wisps.

A mist had settled into the forest. It was soupy thick and Kairi felt the moisture slickening her skin, but Kida’s gentle hand never faltered to keep hold. The woman seemed the most intrigued by the wisps with their glow reflecting in her eyes and a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Kairi couldn’t help but sympathize for her; how must it have been to be cut of from the rest of the world for centuries? And that’s when the realization set in.

“Kida?”

“Yes?”

“How old are you? You said you hadn't seen a shy in centuries.”

Kida’s response was a soft chuckle. “I am over a thousand years old. I was only eight when the Mehbelmok washed Atlantis away.”

Kairi’s expression couldn’t be seen in the fog but the confusion translated easily in her voice. “Then how are you…?” She saw Kida tapped at the crystal on her neck.

“The Great Crystal. I age, but very, very slowly.”

“Well, I would say that you look wonderful for your age!” Eilonwy chirped. “Although the white hair may be a bit of a giveaway.” Kida laughed at this, and Kairi smiled and wondered what Riku might say at such a comment.

It was hard to tell how long they had been walking, but Kida made them stop whenever a branch snapped or an odd sound echoed. Kairi could have sworn that she heard the trampling of horse hooves and the whip quick sound of an arrow slicing through the air. She even though she heard the arrow hit something, but it all came as soon as it went and she wasn’t sure if she had imagined it. Further and further the wisps led them and one by one they disappeared until there were none left. They stopped at what appeared to be a cottage built into a small hill. They only thing that really distinguished the cottage from the overgrown green and moss was a wooden door and a few barrels stacked outside.

Eilonwy moved forward first and quirked her eyebrows. “How familiar…” She extended her hand and knocked at the door. It flew open before she finished the third beat. Kairi and Kida peeked inside with her.

There were carvings and woodworks in every corner of the cottage’s interior. On the tables, across the floor, hanging from the ceiling, and all of them with the exact same theme: bear. Bear puppets, bear engraved boxes, bear figurines. The trio ducked into the doorway and nearly jumped at the sight of a realistic bear statue with its claws raised in threat. A crow balancing atop a broomstick cawed, and a hunched old woman with a long nose and bulging eyes that they hadn’t seen before cleared her throat as she hacked at a block of mahogany. Already the block was giving way to the shape of the predictable creature.

“Go on! Have a look around,” the woman cried and motioned around with a wrinkly skeletal hand. “Everything is half off!”

Kida was already tracing her hand against an engraved wooden mask, and Eilonwy played with a contraption that made a bear’s head dart at spinning fish. Kairi let them have their fun and approached the old woman herself. The crow watched her every movement and tilted its head, hopping closer and closer.

“Um…” Kairi began. “We were lead her by some wisps.” She saw the old woman flinched slightly but continued on “Can you tell us where we are?”

“You’re in DunBroch, lass. Though I suppose that’s a long way off from where you’re familiar…” the crone added slyly. “Would you be interested in a cutlery set?”

“No, but maybe you can help us? We-”

Eilonwy screamed from somewhere behind her. She had knocked into the broomstick that the crow had been perched upon, and somehow without any aid the broom had righted itself. Not only that but it began to sweep circles around her. Kairi saw the old woman snap her fingers and the broom went still and fell again. Eilonwy turned to her, wide eyed and gasping. “You’re a witch!”

“Woodcarver.” the-obviously-a-Witch sang in irritation and grabbed an old mop that leaned on the nearest wall. She began mopping at the wood shavings on the floor but the old cloth of the mop did little to them.

Kairi moved out of her path but persisted to follow her. “You can help us! If you know magic like Ten Sid and Merlin then you can-”

“Woodcarver!” She bustled past Kairi and tossed the mop aside uncaringly, picking up an axe and chopping at a thick chunk of oak on a stool. Kida dodged the splinters that scattered across the floor. She met Kairi’s eyes with an uncertain look. Steeling herself, Kairi stood where the old woman couldn’t go around her. She balked a little when the Witch focused a single bulging eye on her in slight warning.

“We can make it worth your while?” she insisted, but instantly came up short with anything to offer.

“Yes,” Kida quickly added to her rescue, and lifted her foot to remove both of her anklets. She moved to where Kairi was and held them out to the Witch in offering. The old woman regarded them with clear fascination before turning her gaze back to Kida and Kairi. When she opened her mouth, the crow hopped forward and spoke for her.

“Ancient metal!” It sniffed the bracelets. “Lost Kingdom quality. Although the crystal would be an even greater prize…”

Kida covered the crystal with her hand and matched the crow sternly. “It’s not for bargain.”

“A lock of blondie’s hair then!” the crow sang in a tight pitch.m. Eilonwy pulled her hair over her shoulder protectively and glared.

The Witch smiled as she grabbed the anklets from Kida and jingled them in her old palm. She traced the anklets with a single finger and hummed.“...what kind of spell are you after?”

Kairi mimicked Kida’s authoritative stance and looked from both the crow to the Witch. She matched her tone with the same firmness. “We want a spell...to send us all home.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” the Witch asked with a mix of warning and mischief. Kairi nodded as absolute as she could. “Done!” the Witch snapped in confirmation as she jostled Kairi and Kida towards the cottage door. The crow circled Eilonwy and prodded her back until she stubbornly followed the others out the door. Back outside in the foggy forest, the Witch slammed the door shut and snapped her fingers.

Nothing changed. At least not on the outside. But when she opened the door of the cottage all of the wood carving were gone. In their place were a multitude of candles and a cauldron bubbling over a small wood fire. With a clap of the Witch’s hands, the contents of the cauldron eminnated a smokey green haze. Kairi noticed how Eilonwy flinched and remained by the door. She grabbed Eilonwy's hand and have a friendly tug. Eilonwy resisted.

“Kairi…” Eilonwy began and held to Kairi's finders. “I don’t trust this…”

It was Kairi’s first real time seeing Eilonwy so visibly shaken. The girl looked at the cauldron as if it haunted her, and her feet dared not move an inch from the door. Kairi knew that Eilonwy would go no further than this exact spot.

“It’s going to be okay,” Kairi tried to reassure her despite being unsure herself. She put on her bravest face. “But you can stay right here. I'll protect you.”

Those words haunted her more than she realized. The last time she said them…

She had to force those thoughts away.

Eilonwy nodded her thanks and removed her hand reluctantly. Kairi joined where Kida was standing near the cauldron and watching the Witch flit about the room to gather items. The Bauble had entertained itself by chasing after the crow, who cursed and pecked at it irritably. The Witch slammed down a page that seemed to be torn out of a book. The illustration resembled a round creature but Kairi saw no more of it when the crow perched on top of it. "Well this is new!"it squawked.

“This spell is a very old and tricky one. I just found it lying around right in the nick of time,” the Witch explained as she tossed a dried up newt into the cauldron. “Now listen carefully, dears. To get home you need to find a nexus. And to get to the nexus you will need a guide!” Several other items were tossed into the pot, and Kairi winced when the crow pulled a strand of her hair and dropped it in with the rest of the contents. The cauldron was bubbling more wildly now and the glow was near blinding. The Witch set in a large spoon and started stirring as she licked her lips in focus. She grabbed a nearby metal faceguard and slammed it over her face.“Eyes closed!” she warned.

They all covered their eyes. The bright flash that followed illuminated the entire cottage and out through the windows.

The Witch produced a pair of long metal tongs and dipped them into the cauldron’s contents. Gripping something, she raised it up for them all to see in the candle light. Caught in the grip was a small gray, black striped cat with a pink nose and blue eyes. It wore a large yellow cape with the collar turned out and around its neck was a pink pouch with a white star insignia. The little cat, no bigger than a mouse, was set next to the page with its matching illustration. It rubbed sleepily at its eyes and blinked at them.

The Witch stroked its little head with a single finger. “This is called a ‘Chirithy.’ It will guide you and teach you everything you need to know.” She lifted the Chirithy and grabbed Kairi’s hand, setting it into her palm. “Now shoo! Out out out before you miss your mark!” Eilonwy looked most relieved to leave the cottage.

“Wait!” Kairi called from the door once they were all outside. “What is a…"

The cottage was gone. There was only forest, forest and more forest behind her.

“...nexus?” The fog of the forest had cleared as more sun shone through the treetops. They set to walking with more questions than answers and nowhere in particular to go.

Kairi raised her hands to inspect Chirithy, who inspected her back with its little blue eyes constantly blinking. The Bauble came to circle around and gently prod at the Chirithy until the little cat batted it away. Kairi asked and poked it's like paws. “Do any of you know what a Chirithy is?"

“I do not,” Kida admitted as Kairi set Chirithy in the warrior woman's hands. It pawed at Kida's crystal necklace and she dangled it for it to play with. “There are only birds and sea creatures where I am from. No Chirithy."

“It could be of the Fair Folk,” Eilonwy suggested. “But it certainly does not look like them. How is it supposed to help us being so small?”

As if it understood her, Chirithy sprung from Kida’s hand and landed softly on a patch of mass. It wiggled its little arms and, with a puff of smoke, became as large as a real cat would be. It wore a too large yellow cape with the collar turned out, and around its neck came a pink pouch with a white star insignia that settled against its round belly. “Is this better?”

“You talk!” Kairi grinned and knelt down to meet it eye to eye with Eilonwy and Kida doing the same.

Chirithy rubbed at its eyes and balanced from foot to foot. “It’s very bright here. Where are we?”

“A never ending forest,” Eilonwy replied sadly. “It appears to be called DunBroch.”

“We want to go home. Maybe you can lead us there?” Kida inquired.

Chirithy turned round and round and finally stopped to point in a direction. “There’s a gateway! C’mon!” It bounded off on its little feet and they hurried to follow it. Over small hills and under fallen trees, Kairi kept her eyes peeled for the bear and any other forest occupants. Several deer turned their heads to them and even a dog barked and followed them for a short time, but there were no signs of other humans. Though Kairi did noticed several hanging circular pieces of wood with arrows embedded into them. A falcon flew high overhead near a gorgeous waterfall. Chirithy gave a little wave to it, and the falcon cried back down.

“Wait!” Kida called as she approached the sparkling waters that the waterfall deposited into. She entered the water and went in knee deep, peering into the ripples intently. Eilonwy kicked off her shoes and raised her skirt as she stepped in after her and Kairi did the same, leaving behind her black boots and socks. When they reached where Kida was and looked at the same spot that she was analyzing, Kida dipped her arms into the water and launched it at them both.

“Hey!” Kairi laughed and stood back to gain momentum for her own splash attack. Eilonwy shrieked and fell into the water, landing in an awkward sitting position and paddling to keep herself afloat. Kairi and Kida paused briefly, but Eilonwy only huffed and laughed as she stood to wring out her skirt. There was mischief in her false calm and she raised her hands, pams flat out and facing them.

“Waterra!”

The bauble launched into the water and the spot of impact began to bubble. Kairi and Kida didn’t have enough time to move when a geyser burst upward and erupted water all over them both. They were knocked down as if hit by tidal waves. Not realising the power of the spell, Eilonwy covered her mouth and quickly prepared to apologize. But Kairi parted her clinging hair from her face and laughed so hard that her belly ached. Kida whipped her hair and sent the water drops flying at Eilonwy, laughing as well. The three of them waded back to the shore where Chirithy waited for them.

Time seemed to move slowly despite the setting sun, and at last Chirithy brought them to a circle of extremely tall stones. They were too large to be manmade and at the same time they looked unnatural. Something about them was giving off a pulling force that tempted them to enter their center. Chirith held out both of its little arms, indicating for them to step no further, and turned up its head to them all. “This is the gateway. Once we set foot inside, it’ll send us to the next world on the path to the nexus.”  
“What is a nexus?” Kairi asked quickly before the opportunity was lost.

“A nexus is a place that creates a pathway between worlds. While some worlds can only be reached by the stars and the Ocean Between, others are lined up side by side.” Chirithy turned to face the stones. “Gateways appear to lead you from one world to the next. If you follow them you’ll eventually reach the nexus that created them.”  
“Perhaps that is what brought us together.” deduced Eilonwy. “Maybe our worlds are lined up side by side?” She sounded hopeful for her theory to be true, as if there was a more frightening alternative. Kairi had thought of asking what Kida and Eilonwy last remembered before arriving and meeting one another, but she didn’t even want to share her own version. But if it meant connecting more important pieces…

She gathered her courage before it left her. “Before I came here, I was killed. I-I…I was weak and...”

It hurt so much to say aloud, to voice the truth that she didn’t want to be so. She didn’t want to tell them about her friends or their desperate attempts to save her time and time again. She didn’t want to tell them how she was never strong enough to keep up no matter how desperately she wanted to. It hurt so much.

The unmasked horror on Kida and Eilonwy’s faces didn’t make her feel any better, but neither did they question her further. Instead, Kida held her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Eilonwy’s small form entered the hug and embraced them both tightly. Chirithy waddled to them and did its best to fit its arms around where it could reach their calves.

“I was chosen to sacrifice myself…” Kida explained from above their heads. “The Kings of the Past called to me and I had to answer. But I met someone. A friend...he must still be waiting for me…”

Eilonwy dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her dress and sniffed. “My fate was not kind either. My friends and I faced the Horned King. He was trying to make an undead army with a cursed black cauldron, but poor Gurgi threw himself into the black cauldron to sacrifice himself. Something went wrong. The castle came down and then I was here. I do hope my friends are not harmed...”

“Hope is not lost,” Chirithy called from below them. “Your bodies were destroyed. But as Princesses of Heart, your light salvaged as much of you as it could. If you can return home then maybe your bodies can line your pieces back up.”

Kairi wiped a loose tear from her cheek and sighed. Princesses of Heart. She remembered Merlin and Mickey mentioning how the roles had been passed on when the first princesses had served their purpose. She had thought that she was the only one remaining until Sora had described meeting one other and then a set of sisters. It made sense that they sought each other out in their times of need; they were kindred spirits. She felt slight relief that she not only found similar people but also friends in them as well.

“Chirithy is right…” she said at last. “We have loved ones waiting for us. But until then, we have each other to count on.” She smiled with a newfound hope. “And I won’t let either of my new friends down.” She offered one of her hands.

Eilonwy hold her hand and Kida held Eilonwy’s. Chirithy tapped Kairi’s leg and mimicked raising a weapon to the air. Taking the queue, Kairi called Destiny’s Embrace to her free hand and raised it skyward. It pulsed with light and all of the stones shone around them as a key-shaped hole appeared at their feet. The light overtook them and they disappeared.

A black coated figure went unnoticed as he watched the party of princesses and a Chirithy step into the circle of ancient stones. The light that erupted beneath them was blinding and he had to squint momentarily with a hand shielding his view. He leaned against a tree with his arms folded, a smirk barely visible in the shadow of the hood concealing most of his face. The cursed bear had merely been a test to see what he was up against, and Luxu had made the right call in having him deliver the exact page that the Witch would need from the Book of Prophecies. Now all he had to do was follow the path that the princesses we literally laying out before him.

Luxu’s instructions had been simple. Follow them and devour their light. It wasn’t quite known what would happen if a body of darkness ingested a heart of pure light, but he was willing to find out.


	3. Berserk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so intense to write because it finally features an enemy! I was literally sweating through to the very end as I wrote it. Enjoy!

Three lights and a Chirithy appeared on an island just as the sun was rising to its midday position. The lights circled one another as they slowly descended into the lush greenery. They stretched themselves out and reformed into their recognizable states. Kairi turned her head every which way, flexing her fingers and spreading her arms as the heavenly breeze passed through her. Though the island was mountainous and green as far as the eye could see, at least the trees weren’t blocking out the sky. She raised her head and shielded her eyes against the heat penetrating sun.  


“Where are we now, Chirithy?”  


Chirithy bent over to smell a large pink flower. “This is the island of Te Fiti. Like you, it has a heart that this world relies on dearly. Can you feel it?”  


She did feel it. It was as if a very faint heartbeat was thrumming through the ground and up into her very self. Something about the island was more alive than Destiny Islands or DunBroch. The wind came and went steadily as if it were breathing, and Kairi noticed out the palm trees were all slightly hunched and hanging their heads as if sleeping. Eilonwy spun around slowly several times to take in the view of it all.  


Kida walked to the base of a palm tree and summoned her spear. Drawing her arm far back, she launched the spear at a cluster of coconuts and send them cascading down. Pressing her foot down on top of one, she stabbed into the coconut so that it split in half and picked up one of the cups. She did the same with another coconut and equaled them out to four halves total. “Now is a good time for a break,” she sighed as she sat cross legged under the shade. “I have questions, Chirithy.”  


“I agree!” Eilonwy adjusted her skirt to sit and Kairi joined them. “You said that our bodies were...in pieces. What does that mean?” She grabbed a coconut and slowly sipped the milk inside. It drooled a little down her chin and she wiped at it with her sleeve.  


Chirithy waddled towards Kairi and settled into her lap. She gently scratch between its ears as it spoke. “Right now you are only a piece of who you are. But because your heart is so strong it is enough to mimic what the whole of you would be.” With its little paw sit grabbed a coconut and tilted its head back to slurp.  


Kida’s eyebrows knit together. “Do we need all of our pieces to go back to our homes? What if we do not find them before we get to the nexus?”  


Chirithy set the emptied coconut down and wiped at its mouth. “Think of yourself like a magnet. It is most likely that your broken pieces are still in your homeworld. So when you get there they should merge back with you.”  


“You’re sure of that?” Kairi asked frowning. “What if the other pieces don’t want to be back together?”  


“Not likely. Your pieces are a part of the same whole. You must have faith in the strength of your heart, Kairi.” Chirithy said hopefully. Kairi grabbed a coconut to drink from and said nothing more. Strength and faith, she knew, had never been enough. But at the very least she wasn’t alone, and that thought did restore the smile to her face. If Kida and Eilonwy could run on hope then so could she.  


Eilonwy dusted off her dress as she stood. “So where would the next gateway be? On this island I hope? The sea is beautiful but I would rather not cross it. I don’t swim very well.”  


Chirithy leapt from Kairi’s lap and tugged at the hem of Eilonwy’s skirt, tugging her slightly as it pointed onward. Kida stood to follow and Kairi trekked after them. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a shadowy movement. Kida must have noticed too because she stopped walking and turned in the direction of a tall shaking bush. From out of the bush stepped a black shoe and then the black coat connected to it. The figure held out a gloved hand and pressed a single finger to where their mouth would be beneath their hood.  


“Let’s not ruin the surprise so soon.”  


Kairi summoned her keyblade and adjusted her stance within the same second. “Kida! Eilonwy!” The two came to stand beside her, spear summoned and the Bauble buzzing as it awaited a command. Chirithy toddled toward them and stood ready at Kairi’s right side. Kairi pointed with her keyblade. “Who are you and what do you want?!”  


It didn’t make sense for the Organization XIII to be here. Hadn’t they all been defeated? It was hard for her to know after she had been taken, but she did remember that Xehanort had stood lone of his allies in the final confrontation. Who could this…  


The cloaked figure gave a mocking chuckle. “Easy, Princess. Don’t swing that thing around unless you aim to kill.”  


Kairi set her teeth and glared. “Who are you?!”  


“Who am I? Who are we? You the embodiment of pure light, me the vessel of pure darkness. We’re practically two sides of the same coin.” The figure pulled back his hood and met her with yellow eyes. His hair was black and spiked, and his face...Sora? No, a Sora that wasn’t Sora. This figure was a dark perversion of the hero and the uncharacteristic smile on his face was a constant reminder of that. And the way that he watched Kairi made her skin crawl.  


“...oh.,” he chuckled. “I get it. I’m wearing your hero’s face.” His smile softened and his eyes relaxed to give him a friendlier look, and for a moment he could almost have been the real Sora.  


Kairi flinched hard and she knew that they all saw it. She couldn’t let him get to her. “You’re not Sora!”  


“That’s right. The name is Vanitas. We never got to formally meet, but now isn’t the right time to get acquainted.” He snapped his fingers. A dark puddle spread from an empty spot on the ground and from it a long slender body wiggled upward. The born creature was eel-like with its pushed out bottom jaw protruding teeth longer than Kairi’s arms. It whipped about wildly and roared, splitting itself down the middle and reforming into two more of itself. Three writhing monster eels lunged as far as they could from their hole, and they jumped back in time to narrowly avoid being bitten.  


Vanitas stepped back to marvel at his work. “This island is a perfect instrument for creation. Imagine what the very heart of it could do in the right hands” He made eye contact specifically with Kairi, and with a final smirk he disappeared in a stream of black smoke.  


Kida and Eilonwy rushed forward to attack but Chirithy held at Kairi’s boot. “Kairi!” it yelled urgently. “The heart is the gateway! And if he gets to it first you’ll never get home!”  


Shaken, Kairi turned back to where Kida and Eilonwy were currently combating the three headed eel. They were holding up well enough but clearly outmatched. It would be risky to leave them but…  


“Go, Kairi!” Eilonwy squeaked as she danced out of reach of a toothy mouth, “We’ll hold it off!”  


“We can do this! Go now!” Kida shouted as she pierced through a vulnerable eyeball of the creature and met with a wild howl. Kairi nodded reluctantly and followed after Chirithy down a green path. She could suddenly hear Vanitas’ laughter echoing through the trees as she ran. It occurred to her that he had no way of knowing where it was without following them, so there was still a chance that she could beat him to it. She just had to get there first.  


“Vanitas!” she called out to the open air, hoping to catch his attention and distract him. She had to say something. Anything. “Why are you doing this?! What does the Organization have to gain?!”  


“I’m a lone soldier now, Princess,” he responded from somewhere, though he sounded right beside her. A trail of falling leaves told her that he was running atop the trees but she didn’t glance up to look. She needed to keep her eyes on Chirithy. “The Organization is yesterday’s news.”  


“Then what do you want?” They were coming into more crowded bushes and leaves, and she had to swat them away while Chirithy merely ducked under them. Almost there. Please be almost there… She barely avoided a tree as it fell into her path and she was sure it was Vanitas’ doing. They must have been getting closer. “You’re just being annoying for the sake of being annoying?”  


She heard him laugh boisterously. Vanitas appeared in front of her and grabbed her by both wrists, pinning her to a stony wall covered by moss. She dropped her keyblade but her foot rose to kick him in the stomach. He faltered and she summoned her weapon back to her hand quickly, raising it high to slam it down on his head. The impact landed, and she rolled along the wall just in time to miss his retaliating blow. With gritted teeth he ran to her, noticeably away form where Chirithy was leading her. Vanitas was pushing her off course; the heart had to be here.  


“Chirithy! Stay hidden and find the heart!” Kairi commanded. She ran to more even ground with Vanitas hot at her heels. Kairi grabbed at a branch and pulled and released just in time for it to smack him. He sliced the branch away and leapt forward, knocking the wind out of her with a single swing as she again collided into the stone wall. Her shoulder stung and she gripped it as she ducked another blow, landing in a crouch. With the momentum from her bent knees she sprung up to tackle him down. Vanitas grabbed her by the throat and shoved her away. She fell and rolled until she tumbled down and landed in a large growth of giant leaves and grass. The world was spinning and bright green and disorienting.  


The leaves were large enough to give her cover, and somewhere up on higher ground Vanitas shouted as he aggressively sliced at the foliage around him. “Don’t you understand, Kairi? You’re the last piece of yourself. One more serious hit and you’ll shatter completely.”  


Kairi scooted backwards into the cover of greenery as quietly as she could. Chirithy appeared in a small puff of smoke and tapped at her shoulder, pointing at a large dark rock that seemed to be blocking a cave entrance. “The heart is in there,” it whispered. Kairi nodded and immediately stilled when she saw a shadow pass over here. Vanitas was getting closer. The heart in the sealed cave wasn’t too far off, but she wouldn’t be able to move the massive boulder alone. That, and she refused to leave without Kida and Eilonwy. She hoped desperately that they were still alive.  


“Chirithy...go help Kida and Eilonwy. Lead them back here.”  


Chirithy visibly hesitated but chose not to argue and then disappeared in a plume.  


Kairi knew that Vanitas wasn’t going to give up, and she had to stop him before he ended them. Gathering her courage and pressing it into the hilt of her keyblade firmly, Kairi moved onto her knees and leapt out from the leaves. Vanitas moved at the last fraction of a second but she caught his face with her blade and landed carefully on her feet. A think line of blood appeared on his cheek and he grinned. “Now we’re talking.” Vanitas rushed her.  


One more serious hit and you’ll shatter completely. If this was the last piece of her, Kairi was going to make it count.  


When they launched into the air, they clashed blades with enough force to create sparks. Higher above the trees they went, crossing blows and kicks and neither holding back. They landed on separate sides of the treetops, huffing from near exhaustion but with glares that promised a victor. The wind spurned them forward, and with a strike that was all strength, Vanitas knocked Kairi down to the ground hard. A small crater formed beneath her but did nothing to break her fall, and she didn’t even have the energy to cough at the dust that stirred around her. His shadow loomed over her and his foot pressed her stomach down painfully.  


Vanitas raised his keyblade and angled its tip directly at her heart. Bringing the blade down, Kairi caught it between her hands and struggled to keep it away from her chest. Her hands bled and her arms ached as he tried to counter her, but still the blade bobbed just barely over her and she refused to quit. It seemed like a cruel irony that the last thing she would see was Sora’s distorted face and acidic yellow eyes boring into her. Vanitas leaned more of his weight into the blade until the tip was scraping the flesh of her collar bone. He was all grin and malice above her.  


“Nothing will put you back together again. Not your friends...and certainly not Sora,” he sneered in disgust.  


The Bauble burst through the brush and knocked hard into the back of Vanitas, sending him flying and splintering a tree clean in half. The Bauble didn’t give him time to adjust and continued pummeling him backwards just as Eilonwy and Kida came batting through the giant leaves with Chirithy leading them. They were in their own forms of worse for wear, with their clothing ripped and stained and their hair in wild disarray. Kida’s elbow was purpled from a bruise and Eilonwy sported a long scratch on her arm where her sleeve had been torn clean off. They were both trying hard to disguise their obvious fatigue.  


“We’re here to help!” Chirithy exclaimed.  


“Kairi!”  


“Kairi!!!”  


Kida knelt and carefully positioned Kairi to sit up with Eilonwy supporting her head.  


“You’re okay…” Kairi whined and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry…go on without me…” She lifted her hand weakly to point at the cave.  
“We will do no such thing!” Eilonwy glared and frowned at the same time. “But we can’t lay about either. What do we do now, Kida?” The Bauble came skittering back and poked urgently at her face. “What, Bauble? What?!”  


The answer came quickly. Black electricity started to shake the trees and pulled them up straight from the roots. From between the decimated, blackening ground came Vanitas, strutting forward slowly with blank anger. His coat was left in tatters, revealing the vein like crimson and black suit that he wore underneath. Any greenery within his radius withered and decayed, and a dark magnetic force was pulling the four of them towards him.  


Kida and Eilonwy clutched Kairi tightly to them, resisting the force drawing them near but still sliding due to the unstable ground. Chirithy stood in front of them and spread his little arms, but its small size wasn’t enough to save itself. The magnetic pull sent it careening and it landed perfectly into Vanitas’ grip. Black veins spread over its fur and began to consume it completely.  


“Chirithy…” Kairi called weakly with her strength gone and leaving her nothing but tears. This was it. Vanitas was really going to kill them all.  


Kida released her hold on Kairi and stood. Kairi reached for Kida, silently begging her not to fight alone, but then Kida began lifting upward and upward until her feet no longer touched the ground. Her entire body changed to something blue and blinding bright, and her hair moved as if underwater. Her eyes were white as the moon and glaring. She lifted high above the treetops and picked up scattered leaves and rocks in her orbit. Vanitas rose to meet her. Kida spoke in a language that no one understood but the message was clear.  


Leave my friends alone.  


Kida and Vanitas clashed and the whole island shook. The wind they created sent Kairi and Eilonwy toppling down. They landed directly at the mouth of the cave while electricity zapped bright above them. Chirithy slid down the steep and rolled to Eilonwy’s foot, quickly standing and righting itself wobbly. Its left eye had turned red, and uneven patches of its fur had gone dark purple. “The heart is here! We have to move this boulder!”  


Eilonwy moved Kairi into her lap and pointed at the bolder. “Go, Bauble!”  


The Bauble flew far away from them. It came sailing back with full momentum and collided into the rock. The boulder titled a slight but not enough for someone to fit through. Again and again the Bauble pounded against the boulder until it fell over with a heavy thud. Deep inside and set into a spiral engraved wall, a small green stone was glowing and pulsing. Eilonwy placed Kairi’s arm over her shoulder and hauled her inside. “Chirithy! We have to get Kida!”  


“She’s out of reach in that form! And if she keeps at it she’ll break herself!” Chirithy whined.  


“Then watch Kairi!” Eilonwy laid Kairi near the wall and dashed out of the dark cave. She climbed up over the steep and through the clearing, eyes to the sky and searching. Kida and Vanitas were constantly clashing and sparking like fireworks, neither showing tire or wearing down as they attacked. Eilonwy cupped her mouth. “KIDAAAAA!”  


The crystal entity regarded her head down to Eilonwy only briefly before careening Vanitas into the mountainside. Kida hovered to the ground at a distance from Eilonwy and watch her with blank eyes. The blue electricity emanating from her was fraying the ends of what was left of Eilonwy’s dress. The power was siphoning what was left of Kida’s light.  


“Kida, please!” Eilonwy strained to shout louder and took a hesitant step forward. “You’ll die if you don’t stop! Please, stop!!!”  


Kida stopped her hovering and pressed her feet to the ground. The electricity dissipated, and the blue glow of her crystal skin started melting away to restore the dark brown color underneath. Kida’s bright eyes were the last of the power to go, and her eyes closed just before she toppled to the ground. Eilonwy ran to her instantly. If Kairi was hard enough for her petite size to muster, Kida was even more difficult. She dragged her as carefully as she could into the cave and set her next to Kairi. To some relief, Kairi had managed to sit up on her own.  


“Quickly! Touch your hands to the wall! Together!” Chirithy instructed as it watched the mouth of the cave in case Vanitas was coming.  


Kairi and Eilonwy grabbed a wrist each of Kida’s. They pressed all of their palms to the spiral wall and the stone embedded within it shone brightly. It flickered several times, and enveloped them in green light.

The dust of a crater cleared to reveal where Vanitas had landed. He was splayed out like a starfish and his eyes were screwed shut, registering all the pain that he was in from the fight. It was his own fault for underestimating not one but three Princesses of Heart; even a little piece of them was enough to deal some serious damage. He was used to pain, but this was nearly excruciating. A black boot stomped near him, and opening his eyes he groaned when he realized who it belonged to.  


“...Luxu…”  


Luxu, formerly Xigbar, held up a single finger and bent over the crater. “Ya had one job, Vanitas.” He strode around the hole, shaking his head in disappointment. “I didn’t save you from the clutches of the darkness so that you could just go around all willy nilly. You’ve got a mission to carry out, you know.”  


Vanitas rolled his eyes but quickly regretted it. The pain in his brain was throbbing and affecting his vision. He strained to sit up, wishing that he at least had his Unversed to pass the pain like he used to. Luxu watched him with an amused expression but made no move to help. At last Vanitas sat up to his elbows and met him with a glare. “The mission was that I take their light.”  


“Discreetly. And one by one. Don’t you know anything about methodical killing? I’m doing you a favor here.”  


“Tch.” Vanitas forced himself to stand. It was pure agony with every movement but he would have to get used to it. “What do you have to gain from this?”  


Luxu tapped his chin in mock thinking. “Sora broke some rules. He’s gone searching for her.”  


“And?”  


“And the longer that he looks for her, the longer she’s out of the way. He won’t stop until he finds her. So if there’s nothing left to find…”  


Vanitas leapt out of the crater and landed unsteady on his feet. He hated to be seen in such a manner, like a wounded puppy that had just been mauled by some bigger dogs. And Luxu was clearly enjoying the spectacle. “What happened to you not interfering?" he reminded the smug jerk.  


“I’m not interfering. You are.” Luxu smirked. “And times are a’ changin’. Best that we keep up with them, eh?” With a wave of his hand, a black sphere appeared and stretched out into the shape of a smoking portal. “Take a break, champ. Then we get back on schedule after.”  


Vanitas ducked inside the portal without another word.


	4. Northern Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having so many technical difficulties lately! This chapter is long overdue and I'll post the other chapters ASAP before my laptop goes out!

She remembered this much.  


Riku sitting alone in the sand, one elbow resting on a bent knee as he stared into the setting sun. Even at a distance she could see his lips moving in conversation to him and him alone. The sound of the shore washed his words away.  


“Hey, why’s Riku all alone?”  


Sitting atop of the bent paopu fruit tree beside her, Sora leaned backwards to get a better view of their friend on the sand. Always the concerned one, it didn’t surprise Kairi that peaceful solitude could be mistaken for isolation and set off a protective need in him. He was always wanting to help someone, a quality in him that she admired but still feared if the expense was himself.  


“He said he needed time to himself,” Kairi recalled. It wasn’t Riku pushing them away anymore, but instead just needing space for his own peace of mind. She was glad that he was at least being more honest, and he really did look tranquil sitting their on his own. Kairi thought that it was best not to intervene. “Let’s let him be.”  


Sora looked unconvinced, so she caught his attention with a paopu fruit in her hand. “Here.”  


“Huh?” he balked, and then caught sight of not one but two of them.  


Kairi laughed softly at his surprise, but then her face went serious like she knew something that he didn’t. If only she had known back then how right she turned out to be. “Tomorrow’s fight will be our toughest yet...I want to be a part of your life no matter what.”  


If the paopu fruit shared their fates, did that mean that he was gone too?

“Cura!”  


A soothing sensation misted over Kairi’s skin. Relieving energy echoed in her toes and fingers when she wiggled them. Where her head rested in Kida’s lap, she could see that they were near a stream rippled by golden sunlight and hopping fish. White flowers with yellow centers swayed in the breeze on tall stems and brushed against their legs. A chilly breeze blew against their tattered clothes.  


Chirithy was curled up at Eilonwy’s thigh, and Kairi noticed that more of its gray fur had given away to purple. Its beady red eyes avoided looking at her. Kairi reached out her hand to stroke softly between its ears.  


“It wasn’t your fault, Chirithy. You did all that you could…”  


Chirithy pressed its head further to her palm but said nothing.  


“Chirithy has not spoken since we arrived...” Kida explained and pet softly at Kairi’s hair. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse and strained but her smile tried to hide it. “But we all need the rest and a moment of peace.”  


“Desperately,” sighed Eilonwy as she laid among the flowers. “We don’t even know where we are. And if Chirithy will not speak then we may as well be lost.” She propped her head on both of her hands and swung her feet back and forth. “I’d rather not risk another fight. Not with Kida-” she hesitated before she finished. Their eyes caught and Kida frowned.  


“I am fine,” Kida insisted dismissively. Her hand went instinctively to her necklace; a misstep. Kairi saw that it was significantly chipped off at the bottom.  


Kairi sat up quickly. “Wait, what happened?” Her memory was sharp with Vanitas’ face. It blurred around the edges with his keyblade pointed down at her. Beyond that, hazy shadows and a strange sun that was blue and bright. Then nothing. Eilonwy and Kida were suspiciously quiet and she wished that she knew why. “Please tell me. If you were hurt…I’m sorry that I-”  


“It is not your fault. No one is at fault, Kairi.” Kida shook her head warily. “When we were attacked, I believe that my crystal attempted to save us. I used the power of the Kings of the Past but…” she touched at her necklace. “It cost me more than I knew.” She extended out her leg, revealing her transparent feet. Where flesh still existed was cracked with blue lines. When Kairi looked closer, the lines seemed to be ascending higher.  


The Bauble popped into Kairi’s view, floating a bit more sluggish than she was used to seeing. It’s glow had dimmed severely. Eilonwy’s hands, busy at making a daisy chain from the flowers, shone straight through to the grass behind them. Kairi checked herself but found no alteration or transparency of her own. She felt a slight pang of guilt rattle in her stomach.  


One more serious hit, Vanitas had said. One more serious hit and you’ll shatter completely. He hadn’t meant just her. They were running out of time.  


Chirithy waddled from Eilonwy’s side and stood to where it was facing all of them properly. “I never realized how much of your light that using the gateways was costing you. And with you having to face attacks, more and more of your light is overworking itself to stay present. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize this sooner…” it finally spoke in a defeated little voice.  


They all exchanged glances, clearly absent of any blame to Chirithy. Eilonwy placed the daisy chain that she had made atop Chirithy’s head. “You helped us get this far. We can’t be angry with you for that. But perhaps you are feeling up to leading us again? We’re shorter on time than expected and I do hope that we are close...” She frowned as she examined her nearly invisible hand.  


Chirithy hopped from foot to foot and waved its little arms. “Very close! Once we reach the gateway of this world, we’ll finally be at the nexus.”  


“Good. Then we’ll all be home sooner than we think,” Kairi grinned and stood. “Lead the way, Chirithy.” Her newfound eagerness to get home did not make her feel any less afraid for Kida and Eilonwy. She had to see them off to their own homes before they disappeared completely. And the sooner the better.  


They had once again been taken to a sort of forest, but it was unlike any of them that they had ever seen before. The trees were tall and skinny and mountains went as far as the eye could see. They passed several watchful moose and deer while shaggy elephants roamed through the wide waters. A retinue of people dressed in brown hide road on top of the elephants and waved to them. The trio waved back as they passed, and Kairi though that she caught sight of two bears riding the elephants among them.  


Chirithy lead them to the beginning of the rocky mountains. It raised its paw to point at one of the highest points. “We have to get up there- where the lights touch the Earth.”  


Kairi raised her head up to the scraggly black rock wall. Pieces were jutting out with other jagged edges, and the mountains seemed to darken as night was setting in. “How will we get up there?”  


Kida stepped forward and pressed her hand to the rock. She grabbed an edge and hoisted herself up easily as she climbed. Once she was several up she lifted herself onto a flat part of the rock and stood, analyzing the next climb and testing her footing. It was secure enough for her, but the others…  


She laid flat on her stomach and peeked down at them over the edge. Her expression was questioning.  


Kairi and Eilonwy shook their heads in unison.  


“She climbed up there in five seconds. I counted.” Eilonwy swallowed tightly as Kida climbed back down. Kairi saw that more of Kida’s legs were disappearing. And Eilonwy’s arms were faded up to the elbows now.  


Kairi thought back to her training sessions with Lea. Adapting to different environments had been a part of the teachings in the case that they had to venture out to different worlds. Her stamina and height of jumping had increased significantly, but it wasn’t enough to scale a whole mountain. At least not without leaving Kida and Eilonwy behind. She wouldn’t ask any more of them in their current states either.  


Overhead, the sky went black and full of twinkling stars. The temperature had been chilly before but now the cold was really starting to set in. Kairi rubbed her arms for warmth. Think, Kairi. Think. What would Sora do?  


...my friends are my power.  


Kairi recalled the technique that was a different kind of magic. And whether it worked or not, she was about to find out. She pressed her fist over her heart and reached out, expanding herself through a connection to any other possible princess of Heart. Sora had taught her to “feel for a friend”. She was limited beyond the friends that she already knew, but somewhere out there had to be a fellow princess willing to help. She found one. “Give me strength!” The responding glow from her chest proved her correct.  


The sound of drums and a flute pounded into their ears.  


A breeze sprang from the ground and lifted with it purple and orange leaves of another world. The leaves swirled and twirled around them as butterflies joined the windy fray. The rough colors of a woman appeared, copper skinned and with very long black hair, and she extended her hands to Kairi in welcome. Kairi took them eagerly and spun with her. The colorful wind raised them higher and higher, carrying with it the trio and Chirithy and the autumn leaves. They landed at the top of the mountain.  


“This is amazing!” Eilonwy breathed and clapped her hands. The Bauble bounced against a leaf with its own excitement. Kida laughed and spun with her arms stretched out wide. Kairi released the woman’s hands and bowed in thanks. The woman smirked playfully, burst into leaves and disappeared, taking the colorful wind with her.  


The mountain top they had reached seemed to curve downward into a sort of bowl shape. The sky was still dark and the air thinner and far colder. They look around for a sign of something, anything. Kairi was about to speak when she began to hear a series of whispers. It wasn’t coming from her own party but all around them.  


A blue light that resembled water trickled down from the sky, then another and another. It warbled towards them as if curious. The whispers changed to a harmonizing song, and the mesmerizing lights combined their singular streams into one large fountain that pulsed at the center of the mountain and spread out like a small lake. Kairi, Kida and Eilonwy backed away from it quickly, watching as the water continued to flow and splash over the mountainside. Kairi stuck a hesitant foot in first. It felt as if a million voices were singing through her.  


“The gateway… Chirithy whispered.  


Kairi proceeded further in and gestured for Eilonwy and Kida to follow. There was something alluring about the continuous fountain from the sky. The magnificent blue dyed all of them its shining color. Kairi approached it slowly and rounded the fountain, hearing more of the song the closer that she got to it. In awe, she reached out a single finger to touch it.  


The fountain burst into orange and all of the water disappeared. Animals of various colored lights pranced across the sky with the song now at a full harmonious chant. An elephant neared them, and Kairi stumbled back when it appeared to step over her but made no contact to the ground or her. All around them ran wolves and buffalo and other creatures they didn’t quite know. Eilonwy shrieked when a ghostly fish swam right through her.  


They all heard Kida gasp. There was a woman that looked almost exactly like her standing before her in a transparent blue state. She wore a feathered headdress and a mother’s smile. Kida reached her hand out to her. The mirror woman reached back and pulled her into a hug. Clutched in her hand was a bracelet made for the wrist of a toddler. She set it into Kida’s palm.  


“Matem...” Kida sobbed into her shoulder.  


Kairi felt a hand press to her own shoulder. She whirled around, and in the light before her was a shining Sora. The real Sora will the real smile and the real gaze that made her want to cry when he looked at her with such longing.  


“Kairi!”  


“Sora!” She threw herself into his arms. It had to really be him; he smelled just like the island and her hugged her too tightly to be an illusion. She needed him to be real so badly that it hurt. The apologies spilled from her mouth and she began to cry and hiccup over the words. His own apologies stumbled over her own and he pulled away only slightly to wipe the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs despite the one sliding down his own face. It was like he was proving to himself that she was real too.  


Kairi began to feel less and less of the weight of him. They both pulled away enough to see that he was disappearing. Kairi frowned. “Wait! Don’t go! I have to know that you’re okay! Did everyone survive? Did you survive?” She didn’t hide the panic in her voice. His own expression was concern but when he spoke she could no longer hear him. His body moved backwards of his own accord and they tried to reach out to each other but failed.  


Everything inside her told her to chase him. To go after him. But when she looked over her shoulder, she could now see Kida crying, her mother gone, and Eilonwy and Chirithy attempting to console her. She needed Sora, but her new friends needed her so much more. And she had to see her journey through to the end.  


She turned back but Sora was no longer there. Kairi wiped away the last tear and ran to her friends. She crouched at Kida’s side and pressed a hand to her sobbing shoulder. Eilonwy leaned to whisper to Kairi and said, “I think the light shows our lost loved ones….”  


“I think so too…” Kairi admitted sadly. She wondered where Sora really was, and “lost” didn’t comfort her.  


At last Kida sniffed and straightened. She wiped away her tears on her forearm and glanced down at the little bracelet in her hand. “I am...okay now. Matem is with me…” She pulled Kairi and Eilonwy into a much needed hug and held them there. They returned it without hesitation as a spotlight shone directly on top of them. They all glanced upward.  


“It’s time.” Chirithy said hopefully. “It’s time to go to the next nexus. And then you’ll all be home again.”  


Home.  


Hand in hand they stood. They felt a tug of gravity as the light lifted them upward. Slowly they rose higher and higher, and Kairi felt an elation within herself that after all of this, it was nearly over. She was going to see her friends again. Kida and Eilonwy wouldn’t disappear and everything would be alright.  
A spinning keyblade penetrated the light and struck Kairi in the back.  


She fell from the lights of the sky, down and down the mountainside, and Kida and Eilonwy could do nothing but reach for her and cry out her name. Chirithy leapt after her.  


Vanitas had landed a direct hit. He watched her plummet all the way down.

Kairi stood on top of a giant stained glass. The glass depicted her as how she had been at age fourteen- short red haired and with her white top and purple skirt. She still wore the same necklace that Aqua had blessed so many years ago. In the image she was sleeping but one hand gripped Destiny’s embrace and the alternate arm cradled Chirithy to her chest. Smaller circles showed Eilonwy and Kida’s cheery faces, Riku’s usual stern smile, and Sora with his eyes closed- the one nearest her. Aside form the bright stained glass, the rest of the world was dark and she was alone.  


What do you seek? Asked several voices combined from all around her. Three small pillars engraved with lucky emblems rose from the glass. On top of the pillars hovered Kida’s spear, Eilonwy’s bauble, and a paopu fruit with a bitten off corner. She approached each of them.  


Kida’s spear. Preservation. The power to protect the future. Is this what you seek?  


Eilonwy’s bauble. Kindness. The power to impact the present. Is this what you seek?  


The paopu fruit. Nostalgia. The power to wield the past. Is this what you seek?  
Kairi considered all of the options and knew that she could only pick one of them. She summoned Destiny’s Embrace and pointed it at the paopu fruit.  


Is this what you seek?  


Yes…  


A light fired from the end of her keyblade and struck the fruit. The pillars crumbled and Kida’s spear and Eilonwy’s bauble disappeared. Kairi closed her eyes and fell backwards, shattering the stained glass beneath her. Her final thought was that she recognized those voices.  


Her friends were calling to her.

Vanitas fastened Kairi’s arms over his shoulders and carried her on his back as he descended the mountain. Climbing would take far too much time and he hated the cold, but he could only open portals so many times and the one that he had previously used still remained. Because using the Corridor of Darkness could take a toll on the body, he had brought two black coats- one to replace his tattered other one and the second he used to cloak Kairi in.  


It would have been so easy to end her now. Having been struck by Vanitas’ keyblade, all that remained of her was a hollowed golden form. She was just barely clinging, and passing through the corridor would have destroyed her for sure if not for the protection of the coat. But Vanitas wasn’t going to consumer her light just yet. Even if she wasn’t active on the chessboard, she was still the Queen piece. Luxu had his share of secrets and but so did Vanitas.  


Luxu had given Vanitas one of the foretellers' copies of the Book of Prophecies and told him exactly what page to rip out and leave in the witch’s cottage. Because Luxu was not allowed to look at it himself, he had to give Vanitas the book and leave to ensure the secrecy was secured. He warned him of the consequences of looking further than the exact page. Naturally, Vanitas did exactly what he was told not to do.  


Vanitas had been instructed to bring the page back after the Chirithy was created, and in doing so he skimmed the pages out of boredom and came upon an image that held him. Depicted on the paper browned with age and in black ink was a recognizable rendition of Kairi with the X-blade raised. Behind her was the telltale heart-shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts. He couldn’t read the written language, but it seemed reasonable to predict it was saying that Kairi was going to open Kingdom Hearts.  


Kairi was made of all light and Vanitas of all darkness. Forming the X-blade with Ventus hadn’t worked the first time around, but there would be far less resistance if he were to try again without Xehanort’s interference. The old fool had succumbed to his death and Vantias was finally free of him. He didn’t even feel enough attachment to mourn him. It was more like a shackle being removed. Vanitas was going to serve his own purpose now.  


Chirithy waddled after them, now completely purple furred and with a black pouch replacing its previous pink one. Its cape had become as red as its eyes. It wasn’t like an unversed, but Vanitas decided that he could still make use of a Nightmare Chirithy.  


The portal misted in front of them and Vanitas entered it, sealing it off behind him. He felt Kairi stir but doubted that she would awake anytime soon. The portal let them out into the white courtyard of the long abandoned Scala ad Caelum. Vanitas resented all the bright white marble of the civilization, but it had been the only base of operations that he could access due to Xehanort’s first experimentation on him as a fail-safe. Xehanort had been a living portal to this realm outside time and space, and now Vanitas had gained the ability after his mentor’s demise. Luxu snatched him from the dark aether for this exact reason; he couldn’t get to Scala ad Caelum himself. Vanitas was the sole key to this world.  


Vanitas had taken up residence in one of the rooms in the tall towers. Who it previously belonged to he didn’t know, but he did know that they played a bizarre form of chess. The chess board had elevated squares but its ornamented pieces had been discarded from a long ago game. Wind lightly tousled the diamond knit curtains and flow them in and out, casting shadows across the checkerboard floor. The sunlight caught onto a contraption that spun brass rings over a floating crystal and shone into Vanitas’ eyes. He closed the curtains to darken the room and laid Kairi’s body on the ledge next to the window.  


“You.” He pointed a Nightmare Chirithy. “Keep an eye on her.”  


The Nightmare Chirithy stared at the unmoving clock on the wall. The hour hand rested on seven o’ clock.  


Vanitas knelt down to picked up the scattered pieces from the floor and set all of them upright on the board. One by one he flicked some over, until the only ones left standing were the faction heads, a piece topped with what looked similar to Luxu’s weapon, the Queen’s piece, and a black, gold horned King. Vanitas took that piece and bent the outward horns so that the metal made a sort of X shape. The new King and the Queen piece were moved to share a black platform.  


A white piece with a single crown that appeared placed not far from the Queen. Vanitas balanced a single finger on top of it, debating what to do with it. He left the piece alone. It wasn’t going to reach them anytime soon.  


Opening another portal, Vanitas gave a glance over his shoulder at the sleeping princess. The only present part of her that the cloak didn’t cover was her face and hands, and even then she was still barely there at all. Still having to make a report to Xigbar and keep him off of his trail, Vanitas had to move fast or risk her fading before his plan could be fulfilled. He entered the portal and closed it behind him.


	5. The Mouse Ran Up The Clock

Constant sunlight burned from behind Kairi's eyelids. She sat up quickly and accidentally kicked down a chess board, scattering all of the pieces to the patterned floor. She was alone in an enormous room with the only movement being an odd contraption with brass rings and a floating crystal. A dormant clock was high up on the wall and notably had thirteen hours marked instead of twelve. The tall window behind her gave her the view of a world so brilliant it had to come straight from a fairytale. Buildings stacked on top of one another like mountains and were all topped with windmills. Connecting the floating cities together were wires that carried cable carts across the clear blue sky.  


Kairi parted the curtains and lifted the window to peer out further. She was in one of the highest buildings and could see an enormous clock tower just adjacent to her. Despite the grand cities and multiple islands of buildings and the expansive ocean splashing between them all, the world seemed so...empty. Kairi gripped the window’s edge and leaned out as far as she could without falling.  


“HELLOOOOOOOO!” she shouted. “KIDA! EILONWY!” Her voice echoing back to her was the only answer. Kairi had no idea where she was, but she didn’t have to think hard about who attacked her and brought her here.  


But where was Vanitas?  


Sliding off of the window ledge, Kairi stood and only then noticed that she was wearing an organization coat. She pulled up the sleeves to look at her hands and found that they were translucent gold. She wiggled her fingers and then clenched them. It was unnerving but she felt resolve in them too. Gold was the color of heroes, and she had a journey to finish. Kairi pulled up the hood of her cloak and climbed out of the window.  


It felt so strange to be in a such an enormous world with absolutely no one inhabiting it. Something so beautiful could not have been abandoned by choice, and she wondered about the people that might have lived here and what happened to them. The landscape provided signs of having been lived in at one time or another. There were fruit stalls and outside desks with leftover ink pots and quills. Small tables with chairs were set up underneath shady trees. She peeked into several rooms as she climbed down and saw beds and decorated wall hangings.  


Kairi didn’t know exactly where she was going, but down was a good start. At last she reached a trail of stairs and landed carefully on her feet. Several banners flapped from the sides of buildings with crests that she was unfamiliar with, and some establishments were marked in a language that she didn’t know. There were so many odd twists and turns taking her to more parts of the city than she realized existed, and she wished that Kida and Eilonwy could be there to explore it with her. The city was a labyrinth and it daunted her to be alone, but she didn’t let it deter her. Sora had never mentioned such a world in his travels, and it would be her story to tell him when they met again. By now she figured that she was weaving together a very grand story.  


Somewhere near her a chair fell over. She turned quickly and called on her keyblade, expecting it to be Vanitas. But instead it was-  


“Chirithy!”  


Chirithy stood still next to an upturned table and knocked over chairs. Its fur was now completely purple and darkened the closer it got to its head, and its cape and eyes were crimson. The pouch on its neck was black with the star emblem nearly faded out. It didn’t so much as blink when Kairi moved toward it and she paused.  


“...Chirithy?” Kairi took another step forward and made her keyblade disappear as a show of good will. She pulled her hood down so that it could see what was left of her face. “It’s me! Kairi!”  


“No one wants you. What could you hope to gain? Do you even really want to share a universe with these idiots?” Chirithy said in a voice so sharp it seemed to cut her eardrums.  


Kairi summoned her keyblade instinctively. “What...w-what are you talking about-”  


“Fading away was nice… Why couldn’t he just let me slip away?! Why?!” Its accusation was so desperate and outraged that Kairi pitied it despite her confusion. Chirithy pressed its paws to its ears and shook its head like a wild dog. “Existing hurts! This is a nightmare! A nightmare! A NIGHTMARE!!!”  


A dark blur of energy shoved Kairi off of her feet. She tumbled but quickly regained her footing to get into a proper stance with Destiny's Embrace ready in her grip. Nightmare Chirithy was pulsing black spheres from its body until it was completely consumed within them. The spheres grew larger and burst, revealing an elongated purple cat creature with oversized arms and claws. The emblem on its chest resembled a sharp edge heart with knife points jutting out at the bottom. Crooked wings shaped like daggers flapped from its shoulder blades, and it opened its mouth to release an ear splitting screech.  


Nightmare Chirithy lunged at her. One clawed arm drew back to strike. Kairi leapt backwards and landed her feet against a wall, shoving off and using the fast momentum to land a strike of her own against its abdomen. The creature howled and charged at her once more, raising both fists and pounding down. The resulting ripple of Earth made Kairi stumble. She raised her keyblade in time to parry the swinging claws but its strength sent her sprawling backwards again.  


Do not stop fighting!  


We believe in you, Kairi!  


Who?  


“Kida? Eilonwy?” Kairi glanced around momentarily but saw nothing other than Nightmare Chirithy stalking forward. She stood quickly and ran toward a lamp post, hooking the edge of her keyblade around it and spinning. Her feet landed several blows to Nightmare Chirithy and she kicked shot it into a bench, splintering the refined white wood.  


Something was fluttering beneath her cloak. She didn’t have time to unzip it when a long claw caught her sideways and tossed her against a tree. A misstep: Lea had always warned her not to take her eyes off of the target. Her side stung from claw met coat and the tear began turning crimson. She pressed her hand over the wound and stood, taking cover behind a building as Nightmare Chirithy flipped several chairs and tables towards her.  


Use Cura!  


Kairi pointed her keyblade skyward and closed her eyes. “Cura!” A green mist and small leaves fluttered over her. She felt the wound in her side shrink and seal until it was no longer there, taking the pain with it. Kairi moved just in time for Chirithy to shatter the concrete wall where she had previously stood. She was shaken but filled with renewed hope. Kida and Eilonwy were still with her somehow.  


Kairi took a running start and scaled the side of a building, leaping onto its roof and standing with one foot on the edge of it. She unzipped the cloak and then tossed it aside like a rejected cape. With her skin and color palette no longer transparent and fully restored, Kairi’s combat dress was now a gradient of purple hues. A golden crescent moon haloed over her hair and two baubles orbited around her head. Eilonwy had lent Kairi her power to change form.  


Kairi held Destiny’s Embrace with both hands and aimed it at Dark Chirithy below. “Firaga!” A flaming meteor ejected from the keyblade and sent Nightmare Chirithy toppling into the water. When she leapt down the building and ran towards the splash, she heard a slow clap from behind her.  


Finally.  


“Well done, Princess. You beat up a poor little kitty.” Vanitas took slow steps down a stairway and watched her with intense fascination.  


Kairi scoffed, adjusting her keyblade should he attack her. “What did you do to him?”  


Vanitas waved his hand dismissively. “I just took advantage of its feebleness. Speaking of which.” He nodded in the direction of a sudden geyser of water. Nightmare Chirithy flung itself out of the water and landed with a hard thud on the marble stone ground. It twisted its neck crookedly and charged not at Kairi but at Vanitas. In a distorted voice it wailed, “Why do I exist?! Why am I still here?!”  


Caught off guard, Vanitas summoned his keyblade and leapt backwards onto the nearest building’s roof. Kairi watched as Nightmare Chirithy followed with ease and scattered the roofing tiling in its attempt to reach him. “Why?! Do I?! Exist?!”  


From down below, Kairi could see exactly how Vanitas’ faced changed from arrogant confidence to brief uncertainty. He parried the Nightmare’s Chirithy blow but was still knocked aside. He landed on his feet but gravity slid him back on the tiling until it forced him into a tilting stop and he staggered. Blow for blow and claw for blade, Nightmare Chirithy wasn’t letting up and Vanitas was becoming more aggressive in his approach. The demonic cat creature drove him higher and higher up the roofing and Kairi ran to follow. She needed to slow them down.  


“Blizzaga!”  


The baubles swirled around her keyblade and followed the large snowflake that erupted from it. Vanitas dodged in time but Nightmare Chirithy caught the full impact of the ice spell and froze from head to clawed toe. Vanitas used the opportunity to kicked it over the edge and Nightmare Chirithy shattered when it hit the ground.  


“No!!!” Kairi ran to the shards of ice in a panic. She wasn’t quite sure how she could save Nightmare Chirithy without hurting it, but she truly hadn’t wanted to kill it. She knelt among the pieces but truly didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t a spell to put broken things back together. She frowned at her reflection in the shards.  


Vanitas perched on a rooftop and scowled down at her, shaking his head in disgust. “Don’t waste your efforts on something so insignificant. I’m your real opponent here.” He stepped from the roof and glided downward on the air, landing on top of a lamppost and pointing his keyblade at her. Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the broken pieces of Nightmare Chirithy began to rattle against the ground.  


The pieces rolled closer and closer to one another, building up into one big pile and then completely evaporating into smoke. Chirithy reappeared in place of the pile with its proper gray fur and blue eyes. The emblem on its pink pouch had changed into a paopu fruit. The cat creature hopped from foot and foot and ran into Kairi’s lap embracing her in a hug that was fully returned.  


“Kairi! He wants you to fight him so that he can form the X-blade! He’s trying to open Kingdom Hearts!”  


“What…?” She wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Clearly she was missing a lot of key details but now wasn’t the time for elaboration. “How do you know?”  


“When I was infected, I heard all of his thoughts and felt all of his feelings…”  


Why am I even fighting? Why couldn’t he just let me slip away?!  


Existing hurts! This is a nightmare!  


Kairi stood with Chirithy cradled against her chest and glanced up at Vanitas. He was shaking with anger, like he had been during their first fight in Te Fiti. If Nightmare Chirithy was voicing his thoughts then that meant he was suffering too. But Kairi knew there was no reasoning with him. His preferred conversation was by inflicting hurt.  


“Don’t look at me like that...wipe that pity off your face!” he spat through clenched teeth. “You don’t have it in you to kill, Kairi! You’re weak! There’s no place left for you in this world and you should meet your end with dignity!” He surged towards her.  


Kairi immediately backflipped out of his reach. The ground cracked on the impact of where Vanitas had landed his keyblade, and already he was lifting it and dashing towards her.  


Let me help.  


Kairi felt Kida’s warrior spirit take flight within her, and her combat dress changed to blue with a red stripe at the skirt’s hem. Kida’s crystal necklace appeared dangling from her neck and glowed when she summoned Destiny’s Embrace. Blue electricity sparked all around her and levitated any nearby scattered leaves. Vanitas attempted to penetrate the forcefield but it electrocuted him and sent him flying backwards.  


From where he fell, vanitas sat up on one arm and glowered at her. His composure was completely gone, and the could see his sharp teeth with each laboured breath.  
She knew that Vanitas was using this fight as a way out. If he won, he could gain the X-blade and open Kingdom Hearts. If he lost...what then? Would he disappear and finally be at rest? He would never tell. She wasn’t sure which one he desired more, but she didn’t intend to lose. Not with Kida and Eilonwy residing in her heart and still needing to get home.  


“You can do this, Kairi. You’re not alone.” Chirithy disappeared in a puff of smoke.  


They took the battle to the sky.

The fight had done a great deal of damage to Scala ad Caelum. Roofs had caught fire and smoked black, cable car wires snapped and cars plummeted into the ocean. One of the clock towers had taken such a pounding that it broke horizontally and crushed some of the buildings supporting it beneath. Craters decimated multiple stairways and white bricks were scattered everywhere.  


Kairi was on her hands and knees and pleading for air to enter her lungs. Her chest was heaving and Destiny’s Embrace laid not far from her. Her body ached, but she told herself to keep breathing, just keep breathing. She hadn’t fought alone. She hadn’t died. She had survived. She parted where her hair was plastered to her sweaty to look at where Vanitas was sprawled out on the ground.  


Black smoke was streaming up from his still form. His yellow eyes weren’t looking at her but instead staring up at the sky. It was hard to decipher his expression, but there was some sort of relief or acceptance in it. Kairi crawled forward and began to stand on her shaking legs. She held her bruised arm and limped towards him, stopping at a safe enough distance. She watched him close his eyes slowly as he sighed. For a very long time they stayed just like that. Vanitas laying in defeat and Kairi watching him fade away.  


“...if only…” Vanitas began, but never finished. He said nothing more as he unravelled into dark ribbons and disappeared completely.  
Kairi felt tears gathering on her cheeks. She shouldn’t have felt pity. They had both been pawns in the grand scheme of things but he could have changed. In another universe, things could have been different for him.  


Kairi dropped to her knees and sobbed, not for Vanitas but for herself. She was alive. For all her fear and reluctance and uncertainty, she was still alive. Kida and Eilonwy weren’t there to comfort her in person but she felt them in her heart. They were trying to tell her that it was going to be okay.  


“I know,” she sniffed. “I know…” Kairi wiped her arms across her wet eyes and stood slowly. “It’s time to get you home…” Chirithy appeared in a cough of smoke and hugged her leg. She knelt down to scoop him up into a proper hug.  


The nexus of this world was located in one of the clock towers. Chirithy guided her through the town and stopped every now and then to let her catch her breath. Kairi glanced around to see that all the damage done to the environment had somehow reverted back. It was as if she and Vanitas were never there to begin with. The clock tower was too high up for her to climb in her current state, so she and Chirithy took a cable car that was still working to the highest peak.  


The clock face was inactive and the clock’s hand had paused at exactly XIII and VII.  


“Seven o’ clock...?” Kairi guessed with her head tilted back to see the giant numbers.  


“Seven is an important number,” Chirithy explained. “There’s a door hidden right behind it that will lead us inside.”  


The two of them worked together to push against the VII panel. It resisted no matter how hard they shoved. Kairi jammed her shoulder into it repeatedly until the panel scraped open. They pushed the door inward and coughed at the onslaught of dust. Cobwebs split apart from one another as the door widened and they squeezed through it. The hollowed out clock was completely dark on the inside and only the gears illuminated from a stray sunbeam. A protective rail lined all around it, and Kairi leaned over and peered downward. More stairs zig zagged all the way down, but at the very bottom was dark water. And deep within the water rippled a yellow portal.  


Chirithy held to Kairi’s leg as it leaned to look down as well. “That’s the final nexus. It’ll take you to the Ocean Between and then you can get home from there. Are you ready, Kairi?”  


Kairi pressed her hand to her heart, feeling Kida and Eilonwy’s longing flow through her. They were all going to go home. They would finally see their loved ones again. “We’re ready…” she breathed. Raising herself up to stand on the rail and Chirithy with her. They jumped. The gears of the clock suddenly churned to life around them. A loud bell tolled and shook the entire tower as they descended. Outside of the clock tower, the clock hands began to spin wildly. Kairi held her breath just before she broke the water’s surface.  


The portal of light was farther down that it had looked from up above. She and Chirithy swam down deeper where the scenery mirrored a darker version of the clock tower. The farther down they swam, the more up the alternate clock tower they went.  


“This was once Daybreak Town,” Chirithy explained through a mouth full of bubbles, seemingly unaffected by the lack of oxygen. Kairi hooked one arm around Chirithy and swam faster. They were almost there.  


The portal of light grew larger and larger the closer they came. Up close, Kairi realized that its shape was that of a heart. She reached her hand out to it.  


The portal of light welcomed her.

Sora had been chasing after fragments of Kairi for who knows how long. Time didn’t move in the Final World. The sun never set, the moon never rose, the sky never changed. Chirithy had long gone and Sora admitted that he missed its company, but at least he wasn’t completely alone. The soft-voiced star that he had met during his first journey had decided to accompany him. Rarely did she start conversation but she responded to him whenever he spoke first. Sora didn’t know her name, and she herself could only remember her brother’s name, so Sora simply referred to her as ‘Shy Star’. On his last visit he had made a deal with her to talk to her brother for her, but he had yet to fulfill that promise. He was behind on so many promises.  


Sora had lost much of himself during his stay in the Final World. Now transparent up to the neck, it seemed that the more fragments of Kairi that he gathered, the more of himself he lost in turn. Shy Star had helped him count one hundred and ten so far. He was starting to fear what would happen to him once he reached one hundred and eleven but he refused to let that fear stop him. Not until he knew that she was home safe and sound and smiling.  


And he would not rest until he saw that smile one more time. Even at the cost of himself.  


Fragments were fragments, but one occasion it had been different. He had been round up a ring of fragments all sitting on a ledge and dangling their legs. A part of him ached to sit with them and pretend that he was actually sitting with her., just for a moment. But he strengthened his resolve on the notion that one day he would actually be able to sit with her again. Sora tapped each transparent shoulder of the kairi fragments and they disappeared under his touch. Before he touched the last one, the fragment suddenly stood and gave chase. He followed it with Shy Star right beside him.  


“This one feels different, Sora,” Shy Star commented. They followed up and over and down the odd buildings that made up the world until at last they found the fragment standing alone. He reached his hand out slowly and pressed it to the shoulder. The fragment didn’t disappear. She felt solid and she even jumped a little when he made contact. A wide smile broke across Sora’s face.  


“Kairi!”  


The fragment, a more real piece of Kairi, turned to face him. "Sora!"  


In all his time there, in all of his searching, the fragments never, ever spoke. It was really her.  


Kairi hugged him and he tightly returned the embrace. She was so radiant in an orange glow and her heart beat wild against him. She smelled like forests and felt like sunlight. She started to cry and apologize and so did he. He had failed her so miserably, and had it not been for his mistake then neither of them would be so far away from one another. At last Sora tilted up her chin and wiped the tears from her cheek. Her face wasn’t so tangible anymore, and Kairi slowly began to fade before him. They both took notice and drew back with her inspecting him and him inspecting her. They were running out of time.  


Kairi frowned and spoke urgently but he couldn’t hear the words before she disappeared completely. Sora stood with his hands out as if he was still holding hers.  


She was still alive. Somewhere…  


Sora didn’t hesitate to collect any of the fragments after that, He was ever close to his goal and he had to see it through to the end. To his inconvenience, the last fragment was yet to be found. Time couldn’t tell him how long he had searched for it, but the illusion of hours was dragging onto imaginary days.  


Sora sat with his legs dangling over a ledge. Shy Star hovered near him and spun her slow circles as they gazed at nothing. In the time since the last fragment, Sora was talking less and less. It was if the spark of hope was finally waning within him.  


“Sora...look down there.”  
Sora dropped his head. There was a yellow portal in the shape of a heart that certainly had not been there before. It seemed to pulse with a very faint beat. He stood immediately and peered down. “Woah! What is that thing?”  


“I think it’s a way out for you.”  


Briefly, very briefly, the portal rippled and showed Kairi swimming with her hand extended out seemingly towards him. The portal pulsed once more before returning to smooth yellow. It was slowly getting smaller. Sora flinched and prepared to leap forward until his eyes fell on the star.  


“Don’t worry about me, Sora,” Shy Star said patiently. Her voice wasn’t sorrowful but hopeful. It had carried Sora through the dark and he knew that he would miss her for the second time. He wished that he knew of a way to save her, but she was content with her fate while she waited for her brother, who needed her more than Sora did. “She’s waiting for you. You should go to her.”  


Sora looked back to where the heart-shaped portal was shrinking smaller and smaller. He didn’t have time to lose. “I will...but...I haven’t forgotten my promise. I’ll find Laurium. And I’ll tell him that you’re waiting.” Sora smiled genuinely. He waved goodbye and leapt from the edge.  


“Goodbye, Sora…” the Nameless Star whispered.  


The portal of light welcomed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is honestly probably my favorite chapter. I really wish that we could have seen more of Scala ad Caelum and hopefully one day we will!


	6. Distant Shores

Kairi, Kida, and Eilonwy emerged from water. An ocean stretched before them, behind them, beyond them. Above them: a star filled night sky. They each stood at a distance from each, all of them making up the mock points of a triangle shape and facing each other with matching bewilderment. Eilonwy grinned giddily and spoke, but her words never sounded in the air between them. She reached out her hand, stepping forward but never moving from her spot. 

Kida’s head swung to them both, her eyes wide as she attempted to run through the knee high water towards them. She didn’t move an inch from her position. Kairi shuffled in her own spot but the water wasn’t resisting her or pushing her back. She simply wasn’t moving. Thinking fast, Kairi raised her hands and cupped over her mouth. “CHIRITHY!” she shouted. She waited for the telltale puff of smoke but it never came. 

Lights in the water suddenly shone from beneath them. It started first from their feet and spread outward like ink, slinking out until all three of the lights merged their borders and became one bright mass. Glancing down, Kairi, Kida and Eilonwy saw three separate visions. 

Eilonwy saw a green-clad woman stirring a large pot and tapping her foot rhythmically. Seated at a table near her, a handsome man with a cavalier smile strummed a ukulele and moved his lips along to a song that Eilonwy couldn’t hear. The woman paused her stirring to grab an oddly colored glass bottle and tap it's contents into the pot. She said something to the man that made him stand and bend to the spoon of soup that she extended. 

Kida witnessed the woman that she had seen Kairi summon from before, running barefoot and lithe through a forest path and chasing a breeze. The woman leapt over a log without breaking her stride, ran to the very tip of a jutting out rock, and dived eagerly off of a waterfall. A racoon and hummingbird swiftly dove behind her, and Kida watched as she landed perfectly in the wide waters below. 

Kairi watched a young girl sailing a raft on an open ocean. Accompanying her was a chicken pecking in circles and a small pig daring to dip its snout into the water. Up above flew a large eagle that kept perfect pace with the girl, and Kairi could have sworn that she saw it wink down at her. The girl waved up at the bird with familiarity. 

She understood. Should something happen to her or Kida or Eilonwy, the lights would be safe. They’d have other worthy hearts to find a home in until the time came for their return. 

When Kairi glanced back up, Kida and Eilonwy were even farther away in the water than before. The water around them was swirling in bright tendrils, and she could see that Eilonwy’s bauble and Kida's restored crystal were glowing at full force. Higher and higher the water was rising around them and obscuring Kairi’s view of them. Kairi stood on the tip of her toes and tried to meet their eyes but the message was clear. 

This was goodbye. 

More friends to bid farewell to. 

Kairi’s eyes began to sting from the oncoming tears. She raised both arms and waved them as hard as she could, jumping up and down so that they could see her. She saw them both jump and wave back to her frantically with apologetic smiles. 

Eilonwy was the first to cry. Tearing up She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, and though all sound was drowned out she was clearly sobbing by the shake of her shoulders. The Bauble gave a pink and blue glow, it’s own form of goodbye, and Eilonwy sank into the water like a dropped anchor. The resulting splash reached high into the sky and flowed like a water tunnel, taking Eilonwy with it. 

Kida couldn’t keep up her false smile any longer. The genuine frown that came after was enough to shatter anyone left to witness it, and Kairi nodded her head to silently assure her. Finally, Kida's hand slowly descended from it’s wave and went limp at her side. She closed her eyes and raised her chin just as she sunk into the water below without a splash. 

Kairi was the last to go. She looked to the stars above her as the water began churning around her dangerously. Several stars were flickering as if they were calling to her. She hoped that Kida and Eilonwy had returned safely. One day she would find them and thank them for not leaving her behind. She needed to tell them how she learned to be strong because of them. 

One day she would see them again. She would make certain of it. 

Kairi began to sink. The light beneath her took on the shape of a heart-shaped moon. 

“Kairi!!!” 

She turned her head sharply. “Sora?!” 

He was there, running towards her and kicking up the water in a flurry as he neared her. Kairi ran to him, finally free of the water’s invisible hold. Of all the wishes that she had made, this was the one she wanted granted the most. Sora was really here. They met each other halfway and hugged so hard that their hearts beat back and forth to each other as if one united organ. Words couldn’t describe the weight of longing that lifted and evaporated right there under the stars. 

“I never stopped searching for you, Kairi,” Sora muffled into her hair. 

“I never stopped trying to come back home to you,” Kairi whispered to his shoulder. She couldn’t wait for them to be back on the island with their friends. She couldn’t wait to tell him of Kida and Eilonwy and Chirithy and the worlds that she saw. There was so much bubbling in her chest and fighting to get out but she refused to make space for it and let Sora go. 

Sora remembered all the times that he didn’t hold her long enough and decided immediately that this wouldn’t be one of those times. The missing fragments of himself could have been restored by her voice alone. So many apologies streamed from his mouth that he couldn’t keep up with all that he was apologizing for. He was sorry for always leaving her. He was sorry for not taking her with him. He was sorry that the last she saw of him was his failure to save her. But she swore over and over that she forgave him and she was sorry too. 

They longed to be at Destiny Islands with one another again. The water gave away beneath them and together they sank. Neither one of them let the other go. 

Queen Kidagakash climbed to the highest temple of Atlantis and gazed at the sky. The bottom of the ocean could pass for the same blue atmosphere but the city was still too deep for starts to shine through. Kida closed her eyes and imagined the stars twinkling above her through gaps of treetops. The memory was as sharp as the tip of her spear. A breeze slightly stung at the fresh blue ink tattoos on her back- three lights centered by a star. She moved her hair to accept the wind on her skin and sighed. 

"Kida!" her newlywed husband yelled up to her. Milo's scrawny form scrambled onto the temple roof unsteadily and Kida bent down to help him. He smiled and adjusted his glasses as he stood. Kida loved the way that he looked at her. "Whoo! That was a climb." He paused to clear his throat. "They're ready for your story." 

Together they climbed (carefully for Milo's sake) down the temple and headed to a stone paved clearing below. A ring of excited children and some adults sat waiting for her. Milo sat and joined the ranks and made room for the children that rushed to sit next to him. Kida smiled and took center stage as a drummer began to pound a slow building up beat. She swept her arm back dramatically. 

"Let me tell you the tale of two fierce warriors! Kairi the Brave with a heart like wildfire." The crowd oohed when she kicked up her spear and caught it in one hand, then mimicked holding it like a keyblade. "And Eilonwy the Gentle, wielder of a small sun." Kida curtsied as she held her crystal in her palm. She held her hand out to Milo who handed her a piece of chalk on queue. 

Kida got down on her knees and set about drawing on top of the dark stone ground. Her rendition of Chirithy wasn’t perfect but the crowd was impressed anyway. She drew the Witch and her talking crow, the mountain with the lights and even the massive elephants with people on them. Milo pressed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and pointed at her latest sketch. “What’s that, Kida?” 

“I am not sure...Kairi wielded it like a sword?” 

Ever the curious historian, Milo tapped at his chin thoughtfully and inspected the design. “So is it some kind of...key-sword? A key-blade?” 

Kida grinned as she spread more lines of chalk and told the story of three connected worlds and her journey through them. At the center of it all she drew Kairi and Eilony’s smiling faces. She touched her fingers lightly to the images and prayed that wherever they were, they were happy and safe. 

“Here, Hen Wen! Here, little piggy!” Eilonwy knelt down to accept the small piglet into her lap. Hen Wen snuffled at her hands and wiggled her rump as Eilonwy pet her belly. She grabbed the edge of a small wooden tub and the water sloshed when she pulled it closer. 

“What are you doing Eilonwy?” Taryn had emerged from the barn with a scrub brush for Hen Wen’s bath. The chickens came to follow him but he shooed them away as he approached. His favorite sword was always strapped to his back, even during his chores, and he had to adjust it when he sat next to Eilonwy and scratched gently at Hen Wen’s ears. “Giving her a bath? That’s my job, Princess,” he laughed. 

“I wanted to see if she could show me a vision,” Eilonwy admitted sadly. “Of my friends…” 

“Ah yes, the friends from your concussion dream.” Though Taryn was teasing lightly, Eilonwy’s frown was genuine. He quickly backpedaled. “Well, I can show you how. It’s not so hard but you can’t show anyone else.” Taryn lifted Hen Wen and playfully blowed at her pink ears before setting her a the tub’s edge. Hen Wen balanced her arms on the wooden tub and glanced at the water expectantly. 

“You go like this...” Taryn took Eilonwy’s hand and stuck her index finger into the water. The contact made them both blush lightly but neither would acknowledge it. “And make a motion like this.” He swirled his own index finger in the air to demonstrate. 

Eilonwy leaned forward and mimicked the motion. Hen Wen’s eyes followed the hypnotic swirl and she dipped her snout into the water. 

“You remember the right words? ‘From you I do beseech…” he began. 

“Knowledge that lies beyond my reach…” Eilonwy finished. The water rippled orange as the ocular pig brought forth the vision. The colors were hazy but she recognized the silhouettes instantly. Kairi sitting on a bent tree and holding someone’s hand, Kida riding on top of a giant flying fish with a man clinging to her. Taryn leaned forward to observe the vision for himself. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“They’re real!” he blinked at the images. 

“I told you!” Eilonwy shook her head and peered back into the water. It reflected her relieved smile back to her. The bauble hovered above the water and flashed pink and then blue as its own form of remembrance. 

Hen Wen licked at the water and snorted up at Eilonwy eagerly. Eilonwy let her snuffle at her hands and stood to dust off her dress. “I should be going back home now, Hen Wen. Thank you for showing me my friends.” She held out a hand that Taryn took easily, and with Hen Wen following they walked towards the cottage where, Fflewdurr and Gurgi were waiting to depart with them. Eilonwy was eager to show her mother the new spells that she had learned. 

What-was-left-of-Vanitas slowly drifted apart as the water ebbed and flowed around him. He felt himself coming undone like a spool of thread. Everything around him was dark as he sunk deeper and deeper into the watery abyss. He didn’t bother fighting it. His time had come and he was more than ready to go. No more battles and no more anguish and no more pain. 

The darkness took him away. 

It was almost like the day before the battle. Kairi was sitting on the paopu fruit tree and Sora next to her, but this time they were looking at each other instead of the sunset. Sora said, “I have to go back,” and it was enough to shatter Kairi all over again. He held her hand and she held it tighter. As if holding onto him would stop him from having to go. But they could both see his feet disappearing, then his calves, up his leg and on and on until the rays of the sunset were passing right through him. To make it worse, Sora was smiling through it all. 

Kairi tried to force a smile of her own, but it was so hard to keep with the tears gathering in her eyes. But she had to keep smiling, or their friends playing frisbee and building sand statues on the beach would notice. She needed this moment with Sora alone. It was going to hurt afterwards, but she needed this moment’s calm goodbye. “Please don’t go, Sora,” she all but whispered. “Please…” 

It had already been hard enough to watch Vanitas die. To see a false-Sora’s face give into a relieving death had disturbed her so greatly that she didn’t tell anyone. Sora included. Now here was the actual Sora smiling as if he wasn’t disappearing from the world where they barely just returned to. She couldn’t look away. She had to see every last ounce of him while she still could. 

“Kairi…” he sighed as his eyes held her gaze. His tears sparkled in the sunlight. He disappeared before he could voice his last words. 

Kairi didn’t move. She didn’t scream for help. She didn’t choke or cry in anguish. She held still so that she could pretend he was still holding her hand, the only indication of life being the hot tears sliding fast down her cheeks. 

They both knew what would happen when he returned to the world incomplete. And still he had chosen to spend that very last moment with her. 

It wasn’t enough. 

“Kairi?” Chirithy came to stand where Kairi’s feet dangled over the paopu fruit tree. It raised its head up at her but she didn’t look its way. Instead her eyes closed as she swallowed tightly. Chirithy said nothing as it hopped and clutched at the tree, climbing up to seat itself beside her. They sat in silence as their friends began quieting below. The awareness that Sora was gone began to spread, and Kairi could hear Riku’s footsteps as he neared her. He called out Sora's name. 

“...Chirithy,” Kairi said quickly before anyone could reach her, before anyone could hear. Before Riku got too close. “Where do hearts go when they die?” 

“To the Final World…” 

“And then? When they move on?” 

“...to Kingdom Hearts.” 

“Then it's settled.” Riku was so close now, calling her name this time. He was looking around for Sora but he wouldn’t find him. No one would. Kairi steeled her gaze on the setting sun and whispered with finality to Chirithy’s ears alone. “Then I’ll bring him back. I’m going to open Kingdom Hearts.” Chirithy waved his arms frantically. “But Kairi-” 

“Kairi?” Riku came into view and paused to press a supportive hand to her shoulder. Kairi hadn’t realized that she was shaking, and when she had to gasp for air she tasted her tears. Riku sat beside her on the bent tree and pulled her into a one armed hug. She leaned her head on his shoulder and his cheek leaned against her red hair. 

“...he’s gone isn’t he..” Riku frowned. 

It didn’t have to be said; the absence of Sora’s presence was something that they both knew all too well. Though he had always found his way back, each time took longer. Fate was a gamble and this time Sora had lost more than his hand could deal. And in turn, his friends had lost him too. 

“What do we do now, Riku…?” Kairi hiccuped. She wished that she had Kida’s determination, or even Eilonwy’s optimism. They’d know how to re-ignite the hope in her that was dying out faster than a shooting star. 

“I’ll go after him,” Riku sighed. “We’ll always the ones to bring him home.” 

“We?” Kairi eyed him hopefully. Would he allow her to go this time? Would he finally take her with him instead of leaving her to count the seconds until they came back? 

She saw him bite his lip and knew instantly that he regretted his words. Kairi shrank away from him. Of course nothing had changed. She could tell them her story: how she fought alongside two of the bravest people she had come to know, battled and defeated Vanitas of all people, and traversed an ocean of stars to get back to Destiny Islands. All this she did because she was capable. But what was that in comparison to her veteran fighter friends? She was feeling smaller and smaller. 

No. Not this time. 

Kairi stood and stepped away from Riku so that he had to acknowledge her fully. His eyebrows pinched together in confusion and opened his mouth to speak, but Kairi forced out her worlds before she lost her nerve. 

“I’m going after Sora with or without you.” 

“Kairi-” 

“No!” she all but screamed and even Chirithy froze. “I know it’s easier to leave me behind because you’d have one less friend to worry about, but no I’m not waiting here. I can’t do that anymore, Riku. Sora took a risk on my behalf and it’s been a back and forth game ever since. Someone gets hurt trying to save the other every single time. But not anymore. Sora needs us together...we’re stronger together.” Finally catching her breath, Kairi extended her hand to him. She wouldn’t let him call the shots anymore. Not him, not anyone. Not without her. 

Riku stared at her outstretched hand and then back up at her. Something had changed within her. It blazed in her eyes as fierce as fire. The sky burned behind her and illuminated her like a saint. He couldn’t tell her no; she wouldn’t let him. Riku grasped her hand firmly with his own and then cradled it between both of his palms. “We’ll go together.” 

Kairi could hardly contain her smile. 

Chirithy looked back and forth between them silently. If only Riku knew exactly what Kairi had meant; it wasn’t its place to say. 

“Kairi?” 

The redhead princess scrubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. She was outside with Aqua leaning over her and wearing concern on her face. Her face was pillowed by her enchanted bottomless satchel- the one that the fairy godmothers had given her- and some of the paper and pens that she had packed into it had spilled out from where it had unclasped. Aqua stepped back enough for Kairi to get on her knees and return the contents. Her eyes were still a bit puffy from crying throughout the night, but she could see that the sun was higher than its morning position. 

Riku should have woken her up hours ago. The panic set in as soon as she made the realization. “Wh-where’s Riku?” 

Aqua knit her eyebrows and extended a hand to help her stand. “He left out early. Before the sun was even fully out. I told him that you were out here but he said to let you rest. Why are you-” 

“No.” Kairi paced and ran to the shore, here eyes scanning the sky for a sign of anything. Riku had left without her. Again. He had said that they would go find Sora together but he lied. How could he do this after all that they had been through? 

Kairi’s hands went limp at her sides. She was stiller than a stone and just as silent. Aqua neared her and placed a cautious hand to her shoulder. The blue haired woman sighed slowly and titled up her head. “I...I know how you feel?” 

“Do you really?” Kairi frowned. She was still learning about the mysterious woman. She knew little, but still had enough clarity to know that at least Aqua could come and go as she pleased. 

“Yes,” Aqua nodded as she reminisced. “The boys...I mean, Terra and Ven, I used to think that they’re bond was stronger than mine with them. It made me feel left out sometimes. Especially when one took off after the other.” She smiled sadly. “It always seemed like they were having adventures without me.” 

Maybe Aqua did understand. Kairi sagged her shoulders and leaned her head against the woman’s arm. Another thought drifted to the forefront. “Wait...why are you still here? Didn’t everyone leave after…?” 

When the word of Sora’s disappearance had spread, Terra, Ven and Aqua had been the first ones to volunteer to help search. They had access to the worlds with their gliders, and Riku and Kairi would use the Gummi Ship while Mickey, Donald and Goofy commissioned for another one of their own. The others that couldn’t travel returned to their worlds and promised to find whatever they could from there. Everything was supposed to go according to plan. But here was Aqua accounted for and Riku unaccounted for. 

“You knew didn’t you…” Kairi met her eyes. 

“Not at first…” admitted Aqua regrettably. “But if I had, I would have told him not to do it.” 

“I could have helped. I know I could have. If he had just given me the chance. If anyone would just give me a chance.” Kairi bit her lip at the first sound of a sob. When she had been with Kida and Eilonwy, it was like being reborn. She had changed into the hero that she had always wanted to be and something more. But now, back here on the island, it was like it didn’t matter. It mattered incredibly to her, but apparently to no one else. 

She refused to revert back to the damsel in distress. 

Aqua extended another sympathetic hand, but Kairi rejected it and stood back to face her fully. “I have a favor to ask, Aqua.” 

“Yes?” 

“I need you to teach me how to travel the Lanes Between. I’ve seen you do it. With your keyblade right?” she asked hopefully. 

Aqua’s expressions warred on her face. Shock, confusion, uncertainty, then finally resolve. She nodded in understanding and extended out her flat palm. Stormfall appeared in her grasp. Kairi mimicked the motion and called for Destiny’s Embrace. 

“Hear me out, Kairi,” Aqua said a bit sternly. “It’s dangerous out there. You have to be careful. I have faith in you but that won’t be enough to survive the darkness.” 

“I know…” Kairi nodded. “I’ve faced it before. And I can do it again. Please, Aqua…” 

“Promise me that you won’t go alone? That you’ll have friends to go with you?” 

Kairi knew the exact allies to take, if they were up for it. “I promise.” 

Aqua stepped back and tossed her keyblade away from the both of them. With a few clicking sounds and a whoosh of air from an engine that neither could see, Stormfall reformed into a glider and bobbed above the sand. “It’s a tricky technique. But I know you can do it. You won’t get it at first but keep at it until you do.” 

Aqua had to leave that day. Kairi put on her bravest face even as the days turned into weeks and then months. She practiced in secret, her hope that Riku would return with Sora dwindling by each sunrise and sunset. After so many frustrating failed attempts, she had finally gotten Destiny’s Embrace to change its shape. She pressed a tentative foot onto the hovering motorcycle-like contraption. It bounced ever so slightly under her weight but didn’t fall. She sent word to Aqua, and in return Aqua had sent her a lavender box. Inside of it was an armor piece meant to be worn around her neck like a choker. Chirithy helped her put it on. 

Before her day of embarking, Kairi took a pen and paper and wrote a final message. She rolled the paper and placed it into a bottle, scooting it into the ocean and watching it be carried away on the tide. It was time to leave. It was time to find Kida and Eilonwy. 

It was time to find Sora. And if she had to open Kingdom Hearts to get to him, then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
